Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Preservation Groups File Lawsuit Against Closing Of The Kennedy Center
The lawsuit seeks to have the White House and the Kennedy Center board comply with existing historic preservation laws and secure Congress' approval before...
Should We Care Whether A Book Is Soft- Or Hard-Cover?
Recently Barnes & Noble has tried to convince more publishers to publish paperback originals, particularly for YA and middle grade books. But choosing a format...
Is Using AI Really Just Plagiarism?
A chatbot is not (or not yet) an individual, and therefore bears no moral responsibility, but to lay hold of what it delivers, and...
New Book: Inside Stephen Sondheim
Along with his happy student-teacher alliance with Hammerstein, the defining association of Sondheim’s life was his tortured relationship with the mother he described as...
Kennicott: Trump is Wreaking Havoc On DC Architecture
These proposals, the rush to realize them, the stacking of key oversight groups with Trump loyalists and flunkies and the collaboration of firms like...
This Year’s Whitney Biennial: No Challenges
I got the sense that the Whitney Biennial is hiding from the world today instead of reflecting on it. - Hyperallergic
A Bastardized Classical Architecture For America’s 250th
One of the White House’s most compelling features has always been its domestic scale and ornamentation. In a city where architectural bombast has often...
How Paris Has Been Reborn (For The Better)
Visitors will discover that it’s a dramatically different place than a decade ago: lines of bikes and throngs of pedestrians where lanes were once...
David Ellison Claims Unique Creative Opportunities In Warner/Paramount Deal
“I firmly believe that uniting Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery presents a unique opportunity to build a true champion for the creative community, one...
The Space Between Criticism And Literary Evaluation
That’s the thing about bad works: they demand talking back to, and unlike the moments of profound inward reflection good works often inspire, we...
Revisiting Fank Gehry’s Plans For A Grand Avenue Of Culture In LA
Gehry’s vision included completing the original plans cost-cut out of Disney a quarter-century ago, along with new modifications and much more throughout the area....
Trump’s Handpicked Arts Commission Says Plans For New White House Entry “Not Beautiful Enough”
The federal Commission of Fine Arts has taken issue with plans for a new 33,000-square-foot security screening center for White House visitors, saying the proposed...
Trump’s Handpicked Arts Commission Approves 250th Birthday Gold Coin — With Trump’s Image
The coin, which is supposed to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, shows Mr. Trump with his fists pressed against a desk and a glowering...
Report: Adding Up The Financial Worth Of Public Libraries
A new report has put a figure on the value of public libraries to the community, estimating that they are worth $86.60 in community...
New Obama Presidential Library Makes Big Bets On Art
Obama and his wife, Michelle, envisioned art as being a fundamental part of the $800 million Obama Presidential Center when it opens on Juneteenth after 10...
The Donut-Hole Of Theatre Attention
Three and a half hours is the danger zone: the length of many an unabridged classic. The artists, too often, haven’t thought of the...
Publishers Are Unprepared For Books That Have Been Written With AI
In response to questions from The New York Times about the A.I. allegations against “Shy Girl,” Hachette told The Times that its imprint Orbit has canceled...
Metropolitan Opera Debt Downgraded To “Junk” Status
A Caa1 is a credit rating that indicates very high credit risk and poor standing, often referred to as “junk” or “speculative” grade. It...
An AI Version Of Val Kilmer Is Cast In A New Movie
First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled As Deep as the Grave. The producers said that,...
A History Of Famous Typos
James Joyce’s editors compiled a massive list of the book’s errors to be fixed in new editions. Joyce rejected some of the corrections, saying, “These...
Finally: We Know Who Spent $70M On Beeple’s NFT
If anyone was still wondering who owns Everydays, there you have it: Sundaresan. - ARTnews
A Big Increase In The Number Of Books Published Last Year
The total number of books published in the U.S. in 2025 with ISBN numbers jumped 32.5% over 2024, to more than four million books,...
Archaeologists Confirm Location Of The Lost City Of Ancient Alexandria
Alexandria on the Tigris (later renamed Charax Spasinou) was one of several major cities founded by the Macedonian general, the most famous of which...
UK Government Backs Off Plan To Let AI Companies Use Creative Work Without Permission
Ministers initially proposed reforming copyright law to boost the AI industry but were faced with a campaign of opposition led by Sir Elton John...
How Do Theatres Adapt To Current Market Realities?
Theaters cannot simply reduce expenses and expect to find long-term stability. At some point, the conversation must include new ways of thinking about revenue,...
