State cultural agencies launch online survey to help measure size and needs of Oregon’s creative sector

Oregon ArtsWatch: According to the two organizations, the findings will inform a statewide analysis of the creative economy and help identify opportunities to strengthen Oregon’s creative industries and cultural organizations. Creative activities include arts and culture, music, film, media, design, publishing, heritage and preservation, culinary arts, and related fields.

Best underground entertainment trend

Chicago Reader: This cultural moment feels medieval. Maybe it’s something about the collapsing of traditional social models, the rise of authoritarian hierarchies, or the spreading of once preventable diseases and viruses that can kill large swathes of people.

Michael Cioni on Ingenuity and the Future of Entertainment

Arts Management and Technology Lab: In this episode of the Arts Management and Technology Lab, Alexann Sharp and Cara Flanery sit down with four-time Emmy-winning innovator Michael Cioni to unpack how technology and creativity converge in modern media workflows. Cioni introduces Strada, a peer-to-peer platform designed to enable remote collaboration without cloud storage, and shares career lessons on building networks through industry events (NAB, Cine Gear, IBC) and assembling complementary teams (“Swiss-cheese” collaboration).

SXSW 2026 to Host 250+ Sessions on the Creator Economy, AI & More

variety.com: The next edition of the technology and arts festival — slated for March 12 to March 18, 2026, in Austin, Texas — will cover topics like AI, the creator economy, psychology of marketing, future of scent branding, DNA and the dark genome, how world peace is global health and designing for societal shifts.

The Wizard of Oz at Sphere: fun facts, photos and reactions

AV Magazine: The Wizard of Oz at Sphere has opened in Las Vegas, turning a classic film into a landmark immersive experience. The show was created by Sphere Studios in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google, and Magnopus.

New York Launches Biggest Guaranteed Income Fund for Artists in the US

www.businessinsider.com: Big Apple artists will be getting big checks in just a few months, providing relief to thousands who have been struggling during the pandemic.

Entertainment Leaders Discuss Resuming Production, Safety Protocols

Variety: Following weeks of lockdown, production for several shows has resumed with new safety protocols in place to protect cast and crew members. Leaders in the entertainment industry are looking to innovate their approaches to content production, including reimagining budget allocations and what series will look like for viewers.

Career Development: Fixing The Entertainment Industry’s Problem When It Is Needed Most

www.forbes.com: Like much of the world, the US has crossed the six-month mark since the pandemic forced most in-person gatherings to halt, which was primarily signified by South By Southwest's cancellation, one of the most well attended entertainment-based events globally. Predictions are now spanning well into 2021 and beyond to return to a "normal" state of events. The entire industry has been impacted, from musicians not able to perform and live crew out of jobs to countless industry professionals furloughed from music companies.

Oculus Quest put us in an ‘arena-scale’ Wild West shootout, and it was great

The Verge: The Oculus Quest, a $399 standalone virtual reality headset that’s shipping next spring, was only announced yesterday. But it’s making its third appearance at the annual Oculus Connect conference, after appearing under the codename Santa Cruz in 2016 and 2017. We tried Santa Cruz both years and came away impressed, but the demos were tightly controlled and run on non-consumer hardware.

Trump Tax Cut Upsets Entertainment Industry Calculations

Variety: The legislation known as the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, along with its accompanying proposed Treasury Regulations, has already had a significant impact on the entertainment industry. While not every effect is known, several unintended consequences are immediately apparent.

Theaters not amused by idea of amusement taxes, like the one being considered in Irwin

TribLIVE: Adding a tax on a community theater, such as the proposed dollar-per-ticket amusement levy being considered in Irwin, does not make much sense and could pose a threat to their survival, theater operators across the region said.

“It’s a slippery slope to start down,” said Michael Langer, president of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, which operates Greensburg’s Palace Theatre. “The live theater industry is both very competitive and very price sensitive.”

What Do 525 Ventriloquists Do at a Convention? Ask Their Dummies

The New York Times: For years ventriloquism has held a reputation as being dorky at best, sinister at worst. Even now it summons up horror movies about a homicidal dummy, or a homicidal ventriloquist, or both. We are far from the golden age of the 1930s and 1940s, when Edgar Bergen and his puppet Charlie McCarthy were so beloved that Bergen was given an honorary Academy Award. (Bergen made his name as a ventriloquist on the radio. Think about that.)

Ready or not, the world’s first VR water slide is here

The Verge: Virtual reality and water slides seem like things that shouldn’t mix. One is a still nascent technology that generally tends to rely on delicate and sensitive electronic equipment, and the other is a form of entertainment that largely involves sliding fast in an enclosed space filled with water — things which generally tend to have harmful effects on delicate and sensitive electronic equipment.

'Star Wars' Card Game App Lawsuit Produces Copyright Win for Lucasfilm

Hollywood Reporter: A California federal judge has ruled that the maker of an app that lets Star Wars fans play a card game of Sabacc has violated copyrights belonging to Disney’s Lucasfilm. In a summary judgment decision on Friday, the judge is reserving the question of willful infringement for a jury.

New film reveals Miss Piggy's backstory, more Muppet secrets

Chicago Sun-Times: Only Miss Piggy’s creator knows the depths of her tragic origin story. Frank Oz, who gave life to the character in the early 1970s, says Piggy left her hometown farm for life in the big city after her dad died in a tractor accident and she had a falling out with her mother.