Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why The College Admissions Essay Is A Very Bad Idea
The college essay is a deeply unfair way to select students for top colleges, one that is much more biased against the poor than...
What It’s Like being A Librarian In The Time Of Trump
“I see all that being as a measure of: ‘If we fly under the radar, we’ll be safe,’” they said. “But it’s sad because...
San Francisco Agency Funding In Disarray, Payments Missed
The latest target is San Francisco’s Dream Keeper Initiative, introduced in 2021 at the height of the “defund the police” movement... But now, a variety...
Are Our Storytelling Tropes Insufficient For The Complexity Of Today?
Unfortunately, the dominance of psychological narratives manifests in the misplaced hopes we cast onto individual leaders – whether in the political, technological, social or...
These Are the 381 Books Removed From Naval Academy Library Shelves
The list also includes “Memorializing the Holocaust,” Janet Jacobs’s examination of depictions of women in the Holocaust, and “How to Be Anti-Racist” by Ibram...
Amazon Backlash: Independent Bookstores Rise Up
Amazon boycotts are gaining more widespread attention as some people seek ways to protest the growing influence of billionaires in government and public life. - Wisconsin Public...
How Will Trump’s Tariffs Affect The Art Markets?
“Ordinarily, paintings and sculptures are exempt from customs duties,” says Nicholas M. O’Donnell, a partner in the Boston law firm Sullivan & Worcester, but...
Why Are Musicians Turning To OnlyFans? They Need The Money!
It quickly garnered a reputation as a hub for sexual content, given that it gave adult performers and sex workers the ability to create and upload...
Texas Legislator Proposes Bill To Fine Museums For Content
On March 6, representative David Lowe filed House Bill 3958, which outlines a proposed civil penalty against any museum showing “certain obscene or harmful material.”...
1,800 Academics Say They Will Boycott Columbia
By caving to Trump’s demands and failing to protect international students, the letter says, Columbia has participated in an “authoritarian assault on universities” aimed at “destroying their role as...
So What Is Gregorian Chant Outside The Church?
Put another way, this monk is acknowledging the spiritual potential of Gregorian chant while warning against decoupling it from a specifically Catholic liturgy. -...
What Even Is A Broadway Opening These Days?
Opening night is not a Broadway show’s first performance in front of a paying audience, as it used to be many decades ago. That first show...
Tourism Is A Form Of Culture. Other Countries Are Advising Their Citizens To Be...
These advisories are vague. They do not instruct anyone not to visit the United States, as they might Iran or North Korea. But they...
The Dangers For American Arts Under Trump
The Kennedy Center was once the place where politics, the arts and debate met. Historically, it has been a propellant of diversity and inclusion....
The Dying Art Of Steel-Cut Letters
Cutting punches, the first step in traditional typesetting, is the meticulous craft of carving letterforms into small steel billets. - Hyperallergic
Remnick: Trump Is Taking Aim At Rewriting American History
As is true of autocracies everywhere, this Administration demands a mystical view of an imagined past. In late March, Trump issued an executive order...
London’s National Gallery Offers A Sleepover In The Galleries Prize
For the first time in its history, the National Gallery in London is offering an overnight stay to the lucky person who wins its new prize...
How Trump’s Tariffs Will Make Entertainment More Expensive
Software companies and studios are in a better position than companies that import hardware, provided the tariffs don’t lead to a recession. Publishing video...
Major Publishers Ask Congress To Cancel Funding Cuts To Libraries
Four of the Big Five publishers—Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster—and Sourcebooks sent a letter to Congress on April 3...
Trump Delays TikTok Ban (Again)
Until we hear more about any potential deal that actually could be used to delay the law as it’s written, it’s probably a good...
Meet Philadelphia’s Newest (Old) Museum
The Temple Anthropology Lab and Museum (TALM) officially opened this week. “The space was languishing and something needed to happen — either it was...
Lawsuits, Leadership Change, Drama At Opera Carolina
Opera Carolina and its business director are embroiled in a lawsuit with the former production director amid a leadership shakeup that’s as dramatic and...
China, Russia Cheer As Trump Shuts Down Voice Of America
“Today is a celebration for my colleagues at RT, Sputnik, and other outlets, because Trump unexpectedly announced that he’s closing down Radio Liberty and...
How Portland Oregon Used Its City Arts Tax Money
“Prior to the Arts Access Fund, there were 31 full-time arts teachers and educators serving K-5 students across Portland schools,” Dawn Isaacs, the City...
Report: Arts Accounted For $1.2 Trillion Of US GDP In 2023
The latest economic impact study of arts and culture throughout the United States: Arts and culture sectors contributed $1.2 trillion to the United States...
