I’m the founder and editor of ArtsJournal, a pioneering online hub for news, ideas, and conversations shaping the arts, culture, and media. Since launching the site in 1999, I’ve curated and connected stories across disciplines to explore how creativity, institutions, technology, and society interact — and how those relationships change over time.
I’m also the co-founder and editor of Post Alley, a Seattle-based writers’ collective and experiment in civic journalism that brings together independent voices to examine politics, culture, and public life. Both ArtsJournal and Post Alley reflect my belief in decentralized, pluralist media — where thoughtful curation, dialogue, and experimentation help reveal how systems of culture and community evolve.
I originally trained as a pianist and hold a master’s degree in music from the Juilliard School. Early in my career, I worked in the performing arts, including a year as artist-in-residence at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. I was named one of Juilliard’s 100 Outstanding Graduates for the school’s centennial, served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism, and chaired the press jury for the Van Cliburn International Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. That early life as a musician continues to shape my work — grounding my writing in firsthand experience of creative practice and the lived realities of artists.
Before founding ArtsJournal, I worked as a music critic and arts journalist, serving as arts columnist and music critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and writing for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. Much of my writing and speaking focuses on how creative work is being transformed in the digital era — the shifting boundaries between art and technology, the changing economics of culture, and the systems that redefine creativity and public value.
As a consultant, I’ve worked with cultural organizations across North America and internationally, helping them navigate digital transformation, audience engagement, and strategic adaptation. My clients have included opera companies, orchestras, museums, and foundations developing new business models, partnerships, and innovation frameworks. I’ve taught in the arts management MBA program at Claremont Graduate University and for eight years in the arts journalism program at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. I’ve also been part of producing and strategy teams for projects such as the Spring For Music orchestra festival at Carnegie Hall and the Ojai Music Festival, and I’ve led workshops and spoken at conferences throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Diacritical is where I think out loud. It’s the place where I test ideas that also inform my work at ArtsJournal and Post Alley — exploring how digital tools alter artistry, authorship, and meaning; how institutions adapt (or fail to); and how new systems of value emerge around creative work. The essays here trace the deeper implications of technological and cultural change: not just what’s happening to the arts, but what those changes reveal about how culture organizes itself in a time of accelerating transformation — and how artists, thinkers, and institutions might shape a more creative and connected public life.
You can reach me at mclennan@artsjournal.com.