Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
The Elusive Illusion Of Utopia (And Its Uses In Our Imagination)
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then...
What To Make Of The US Constitution When The Country Is In Turmoil?
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes...
Ancient Roman “Curse Tablet” Translated
Dutch archaeologists found this curse tablet in a pit beneath Heerlen‘s town hall square. Archaeologists often frequent this area situated amid the former site of Coriovallum,...
Archaeologists Discovery Intact Ancient Mayan City
Located deep within the jungles of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the city—which the researchers have named “Minanbé,” a Maya Yucatec phrase meaning “there is...
NYC’s Street-Scaffolding Sheds Are Ugly. Can We Design Something Better?
The city wants structures that will go up smoothly, look good while they last, and go away quickly. Those are separate goals, none of...
Southbank Center Chairman To Step Down After Social Media Controversy
In May, Misan Harriman was accused by the Telegraph of sharing a social media post that contained a conspiracy theory about the Golders Green...
Sony Pictures Invests $100M In “Shared Reality” Company
Cosm, founded in 2020 by Steve Winn, has opened several dome structures throughout the U.S. Cosm’s venues — three in Los Angeles, Dallas and...
That Feel-Good Story About The Audience-Member Stepping In To Sight Read Has A Dark...
Two musicians who were part of the orchestra have given a different version of events, saying the keyboardist left after tension between Hurwitz and...
LA’s KUSC Is Now America’s Most-Listened-To Classical Music Station
The station reached more than 705,000 listeners during the ratings period, surpassing major public radio outlets including WNYC in New York (693,000 listeners) and...
Europe’s museums will save you from the heat
Good Morning,
Manhattan's borough president just routed his entire $50 million discretionary budget to the arts (The New York Times) — an extraordinary move.
In art...
How AI Prompting Poses The Classic Writer’s Challenge
This is one novel frustration of the AI age, yet millions of users searching for the “right prompt” are engaging in an old literary practice: turning...
Warning: European Museums Vulnerable To Cyberattacks
The warning comes less than three years after the British Museum revealed that about 2,000 objects had been stolen, damaged or gone missing from...
The Barnes Picks A New Chief Curator
Connie Choi is currently curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, where she has worked for nearly a decade. At the Studio Museum, she worked...
Consensus Growing For A Federal Tax Credit For Movie Production
While production incentives are available in 39 U.S. states, the only federal aid that American productions can take advantage of is Section 181, a...
Judge Dismisses Class Action Against Spotify Over Inflating AI Streams
A US federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action that accused Spotify of allowing billions of bot-generated fake streams to inflate the play counts of Drake and...
How Will AI Impact The Arts?
Well, it's a mixed picture. ISPA recently convened a panel to examine the evidence. Watch the video here. - ISPA (Video)
Next-Gen Music Software Threatens To Replace Musicians In Theatres
A next-generation orchestral software from the German company KeyComp threatens to inflict the deepest cuts yet on what has traditionally been a steady gig for...
Is LA’s New AI Art Museum A Whole New Genre Of Contemporary Art?
In 2023 Jerry Saltz said Refik Anadol’s Unsupervised at MoMA was just a fancy lava lamp. He took that criticism and turned it into Dataland, which is so immersive, so expansive...
Air Conditioned Museums In Europe Become “Refuges From The Heat” During This Week’s Heat...
"When I see people taking refuge for an hour in a supermarket, I say to myself: 'Why shouldn't the museum be a place of...
How Smithsonian Chief Lonnie Bunch’s Lunch With Trump Went
Over chicken and gravy, Trump asked Bunch his opinion on four chandelier samples for the Oval Office; discussed the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which...
Finance Consultant – Arts FMS via TOC Arts Partners
Arts FMS is pleased to also be hiring a Finance Consultant to join their growing team.
Remembering Clive Davis, Who Turned Hitmaking Into An Art Form
“I knew nothing about music,” he once said, looking back at his entry into the record business. Yet his instincts made him one of...
Is The Smithsonian Next?
From the start of the second Trump administration, the entire Smithsonian had been a target of those on the MAGA right who are preoccupied...
Has Blogging Ceased To Matter?
Anyway, the reason I’m writing all of this is not to brag, but to complain. Over the last two years, I’ve felt like my...
The Next Bookstore?
Samir Pail argues that the publishing industry is fundamentally flawed insofar as publishers and authors generate consumer demand, then hand buyers off to companies...
