Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Director Michael Arden Steps Into The Broadway Light
This season, Arden has given Broadway its most surprising and heartwarming new musical, “Maybe Happy Ending.” The show, which originated in South Korea, is...
Why Homer Still Resonates 3000 Years Later
Small wonder that the “Odyssey," a staple of the Western canon and the progenitor of so much, from sci-fi to rom-com, has been enjoying...
Wisconsin Arts Organizations Struggle For Funding
In an era when Wisconsin has consistently ranked near the bottom in per capita arts spending nationwide — and with ticket sales declining since...
Politics And The NEA
“The current mood is one of dreadful anticipation of further hostility toward arts and culture, in general, and toward any institution or organization —...
Cometh Technology And The Bard Reinventeth
We can be confident technological forces beyond our control shall soon enough ensure the emergence of an altogether more “relatable” Bard for those so...
In Praise Of The Lecture
When done well, lectures can be utterly illuminating, when you are listening to a brilliant speaker discuss a topic about which they have more...
Why Have Museums Become Contentious Spaces?
Museums and cultural centers are not just the setting, the battleground, as it were, for these cultural-cum-political fights; they are seen as part of...
Public Radio Stations Sue Trump Administration Over Funding
“Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government,” Corp. for Public Broadcasting chief Patricia...
The End Of Reading And Writing?
Whether the still relatively young values of liberalism will survive, whether reading and writing will continue to be the underpinnings of culture, whether the...
How The Just-Passed “Take It Down” Act Threatens Free Speech
If this legislation has the effect of granting law enforcement a means of bypassing encrypted communications, we may as well bid farewell to the very...
Photographer Sues Jennifer Lopez For Sharing Photos…Of Herself
The singer and actress shared pictures on social media of herself arriving at the Amazon MGM Studios and Vanity Fair Party in Los Angeles...
Report: All Is Not Well With The UK Film Industry
We carried out extensive interviews with 29 participants from across the sector who painted a bleak picture of overwork, financial instability, discrimination and barriers...
Last Stringed-Instrument Maker School In The UK To Close
“There is the distinct possibility that this skill will go from viable to critically endangered, and thus be added to the next edition of...
New York Artists Argue For More City Funding
Advocates argue that the recommended $45 million baseline raise, while historic, is not enough to address the millions that have been lost federal grant...
How Did This Newspaper Publish a List Of AI-Generated Books That Don’t Exist
While the authors may be real, the books don't actually exist. And the Chicago Sun-Times is being roasted online for publishing the AI-generated list. The paper initially couldn't explain how the...
Legendary Russian Choreography Yuri Grigorovich, 98
Grigorovich's productions of the Stone Flower, Ivan the Terrible and Romeo and Juliet redefined Soviet ballet. Praised for revitalising male dance, he created parts...
This Spring’s Art Auctions Were A Disappointment
The houses had estimated $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion in sales for the week’s evening sales, but together brought in just over $1 billion,...
Opposition Grows Against Guggenheim Bilbao Expansion
“A planned extension of the Guggenheim Museum into the Special Area of Conservation of the Biosphere Reserve risks undermining biodiversity, water quality, and the...
How Online Gambling Has Changed Canadian Culture
This shift has led to changes in how people interact socially, both online and offline. The convenience and accessibility of gaming platforms, including platforms...
Big Tech Turns To Hollywood To Try To Sell A Kinder Gentler Version Of...
Google is funding short films about AI that portray the technology in a less nightmarish light than in many Hollywood science fiction depictions. -...
We Should Rethink Our Open Spaces
To reimagine open space is not to think bigger—it is to think deeper. To look between, beneath, beyond. It is to ask: How do...
Mark Twain’s Many Contradictions
Overall, Ron Chernow’s “Mark Twain” is less a literary biography than a deep dive into “the most original character in American history.” - Washington Post
Can Interacting With Emotionally-Neutral Machines Help People Become Kinder?
hen untrained people, predisposed to fly off the handle, interact with emotionally neutral machines that have set higher ethical bars, will they or can they begin...
The End Of Literary Gatekeepers?
I have about the same chance of publishing my work in The Paris Review as getting struck by lightning while being inaugurated as the Pope. But...
Immigrant Artists Who Are Pushing Back
The exhibition is intended as a celebration of immigrants in a time of crackdowns and deportations. It is also a form of outreach, offering...
