Weekend Reading: June 21 Edition

Around Columbus

• The state’s arts community was saddened this week by news of the death of Wayne Lawson, former head of Ohio Arts Council and an emeritus professor at Ohio State, at the age of 82. During my years as a journalist before joining the Wex, I found Wayne to be an engaging, accessible, and untiring booster for the arts. His passing was marked by a range of personal tributes across social media, including this post from Greater Columbus Arts Council.
• ICYMI, artists Darius Golds and Magnus Juliano chose the Pride March as the place and time to make their union official.
• BalletMet Columbus revealed its new artistic director: Australian-born multidisciplinary artist Remi Wörtmeyer.
• Columbus College of Art & Design announced a $15 million renovation.
• Applications are being accepted through July 4 for Pyro, a fire-themed exhibition coming to Witchlab.
• You have until July 5 to check out a tribute exhibition to the late, great Dennison Griffith.
• Tuesday, Thurber House brings Mo Rocca to CCAD.
• Wednesday, Natalie’s hosts Columbus native/jazz saxophonist Anthony Saxson and his combo The Reflections Project.
• Matter spent some time with the curators of the Parable Coffee show Souls from the Well.
• While Columbus Underground took a trip to the Robin F. Williams show at the Columbus Museum of Art.
• Maybe you could take a look after Thursday’s edition of the museum’s 10 Minutes on the Dot series.
• For next weekend, Comfest starts Friday. Bring a blanket, your comfy shoes, and sunblock. Leave your pets at home. (Additional FYI, they’re still looking for volunteers.)
• There’s also an Afrofuturism writing workshop Saturday at Urban Arts Space.
• And Grandview Hop Saturday night.

Around the Globe

• NPR critic John Powers called Agnieszka Holland’s new film Green Border the strongest movie he’s seen this year. It comes to the Wex for its Columbus premiere Friday and Saturday.
• Lionsgate Films is taking a chance on Francis Ford Coppola’s reportedly challenging epic Megalopolis.
• The Week looked at how movie theaters are being forced to evolve to survive.
• Meanwhile, in the UK, a new generation of cinema goers is embracing indie films.
• Pixar’s Inside Out 2 earned a shoutout for taking on the teen mental health crisis.
• Seattle’s Scarecrow Video, which holds one of the largest publicly accessible video collections in the US, put out a call for help.
• NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour chose the perfect moment to debate which film is the sweatiest movie of all time.
• Julianne Moore’s latest role is based on a real-life art restorer.
• Artnet’s ongoing series about art in film focused this week on the tiny paintings featured in Charlie Kaufman’s underseen gem Synecdoche, New York.
• Artist Tracey Emin and actor Imelda Staunton will officially be dames.
• For reasons he didn’t feel the need to communicate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts funding approved by legislators before signing off on the state’s budget.
• Archie Moore discussed his award-winning work on the Australia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
• Cultural sites in Armenia are disappearing at an alarming rate.
• Stonehenge became the latest target of climate activists.
• That mysterious mirrored monolith from 2020 that you didn’t know you missed is back.
• Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani has been sentenced to six years in prison for an act of resistance in her home country.
• Three British nationals are facing US federal charges related to an NFT scam.
• The US Latinx Art Forum announced a new cohort of fellows including Alberto Aguilar and Elle Pérez.
• The Smithsonian has launched an online portal to view an acquired collection of slave badges from South Carolina.
• There’s also a new online portal for rare pieces from the archives of Pablo Picasso.
• Prompted by a current traveling show, Hyperallergic examined the seemingly toxic relationship between sculptor Auguste Rodin and his fellow sculptor and romantic partner Camille Claudel.
• High school AP art students are taking to TikTok to broaden the audience for their portfolios beyond College Board reviewers.
• Can’t wait to see Meshell Ndegeocello September 22 at the Wex? Here’s a new Tiny Desk Concert with the performer to tide you over.
• The Brooklyn Academy of Music is reorganizing ahead of the 2024 edition of its Next Wave Festival.
• The Outsiders, Stereophonic, and a resurrection of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along were the big winners at last weekend’s Tony Awards.
• The work of Turkish artist Göksu Kunak is featured in this piece about whether algorithms are changing performance art.
• Here’s an ode to the lasting legacy of the Black women who ran libraries in New York during the Harlem Renaissance.
• Architecture plays a surprising role in the modern history of war in Ukraine.
• Here’s an in-depth follow-up on the scammers who tried to steal Graceland.
• Star-making gallerist Barbara Gladstone died at the age of 89.
• French actor Anouk Aimée, who worked with directors including Jacque Demy, Federico Fellini, and Sidney Lumet, passed away at 92.
• Actor Donald Sutherland died at the age of 88. An iconic figure for both his starring roles and his character work, Sutherland is remembered for films such as M*A*S*H, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Klute. Film writer Charles Taylor wrote about Sutherland’s performance in that film as a tribute.