How “The United Nations Of Graffiti” Flipped The Switch On A Counterculture Art Form

In the early days, by creed, a graffiti artist would ask neither for permission nor compensation. Now, after courting the former, artists at 5Pointz were receiving the latter. Graffiti was once a countercultural threat that conservative forces roundly maligned as a racially coded stand-in for urban delinquency. Now, graffiti had not only helped catalyze gentrification of one of the city’s fastest growing neighborhoods, but was also being handsomely rewarded for it, with legal recognition by a judge and jury. – The New Republic

La Scala’s Next Superintendent Will Be Dominique Meyer Of Vienna State Opera: Reports

Italian media are reporting that the mayor of Milan, who is ex officio chair of La Scala’s board, said after a meeting that Meyer was the choice; for now, English-language outlets report that the mayor said only that a candidate whom he couldn’t name had been selected (but that all the speculation points to Meyer). The contract of the current superintendent, Alexander Pereira, expires in 2020 and (beyond a possible two-year extension) is not being renewed. – The Guardian

Shades of Meaning

At the CircuitWest Showcase in Perth, Australia, I discussed with artists, producers, and presenters the issues around community engagement in a state (Western Australia) where, outside the capital, the cities and towns are small and far from each other, and the visits from touring artists are necessarily brief. – Doug Borwick