Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
What’s a human worth?
Good Morning,
A quiet holiday Monday, but the stories that drifted in all circle the same uncomfortable question: what is art actually worth, and who...
Theatre Should Be Celebrating Celebrities, Not Bemoaning Them
With our economy stagnant, this situation is not going to improve any time soon, and we need glamour and celebrity to boost sales, particularly...
Behind Book Bans In The Digital Age
I think the library feels like a place where you can do something concrete. You can go to an actual library; you can pull...
Political Drama Wins Cannes Palm d’Or
Cristian Mungiu's Norway-set drama about political polarization, Fjord, has won the Palme d'Or, handing the Cannes Film Festival's top honour for the second time to...
Miles Davis At 100: Still Influencing Music
Davis repeatedly dismantled the sound he had helped invent – embracing the electric age in 1968, much as Bob Dylan had in folk. -...
The Silencing Of Washington’s Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra
The cascading cancellations were devastating for the orchestra and its 61 professional musicians. Their annual salary is paid by performance and the lack of...
Dance As Competitive Sport Gets A League Of Its Own
What is the International Dance League? The N.B.A. of dance. The W.W.E. of dance. Formula 1 racing meets the TV show “America’s Best Dance...
The Enrollment Cliff Is Here For American Colleges
Last year, at least sixteen nonprofit colleges and universities announced that they would close and seven more announced that they would merge with or...
Ansel Adams Trust Slams Gallery Over AI Image
The artwork, which still appears on Danziger’s website, does not contain a title but is headlined A.I. GENERATED, From the prompt: Make a realistic color...
46 Museum Shows And Biennales To See This Summer
Spectacle in all its many forms is the big theme of the summer season, when big, glitzy projects will take over museums across the...
Weird Writing Advice (It’s The Best)
Writers have a bevy of mantras—“show don’t tell,” “kill your darlings”—that mainly help by giving the writer a sense that there are rules. But...
A Theatre Chain Encourages Its Patrons To Use Their Phones During The Movie. They...
The response from Alamo patrons has been largely negative, with many expressing outrage at a perceived about-face. They have taken to social media in...
What Happens When You Give Artists A Guaranteed Income
The extent to which AI will upend creative work remains unsettled. But that uncertainty has made guaranteeing income for creatives a more viable policy...
Pop Music Concerts Aren’t Selling Well This Summer. Why?
Something has happened since the pandemic. I don't know if it was greed accumulated during the closure years, if it was inflation, if it...
AJ Chronicles: Hollywood, 6; Non-Profit Arts, 1
Hollywood has reinvented its core model at least six times in a century. The nonprofit arts model has reinvented itself exactly once. Now there may no choice. But what's the case?
Is Arts Criticism A Moral Good?
We no longer argue about whether art as such is a matter of life and death—we assume that it’s not. Consequently, critics aren’t prompted...
Potential Strike On London’s West End After Actors Vote
An indicative ballot held by the performing arts union, Equity, was overwhelmingly backed by its membership: 98% voted yes to potential strikes. The result...
Philadelphia Museum Of Art Remakes Its Leadership Team
Daniel Weiss took over as director and CEO in December after the dismissal of former leader Sasha Suda. He has rolled back some of the decisions made...
Beloved Tenor Limmie Pulliam, 51
His return became one of the most remarkable late-career success stories in American opera. As his voice matured into a true dramatic tenor, Pulliam...
How Vermont Public Got To Be The State’s Biggest News Organization
In 2022, Vermont Public Radio merged with Vermont Public Television to form a new entity titled simply Vermont Public. The marriage pulled together 57...
Canadian Regulator Says Streaming Services Must Spend 15 Percent Of Revenue On Canadian Content
Large online streaming services must contribute 15% of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the country’s federal broadcast regulator said Thursday. That figure is three...
Seattle Opera Hosts First “Furry” Night
The evening was championed by baritone Christian Pursell, better known in the fandom as Chester the Geroo, who plays Escamillo in Carmen. As far as...
Universities Are Canceling Commencement Speakers Who Might Be Controversial
Some students only want people who hold similar views to address them at their graduation. They exercise what free speech law experts call a “heckler’s...
US Homeland Security Puts Out Alert For Comedian Who Created A Satire Website
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has circulated a “Be on the Lookout” alert to law enforcement nationwide, targeting a comedian whose satire of...
Finnish Museum Tries Radical Support Plan For Artists
The museum has committed to supporting four artists over the next several years—P. Staff, Tarik Kiswanson, Jenna Sutela and Eglė Budvytytė—in four distinct ways:...
