Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Donald Runnicles Appointed Chief Conductor Of Dresden Philharmonic
The orchestra said that Runnicles will take up the post in the 2025-26 season and will lead the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra as Chief Conductor Designate from...
The New Yorker’s Choice Of Best Theatre Of 2023
Over all, dark, meditative productions prevailed, often with their sets literally sunk in shadow. The shows that drew us took place in primordial woods,...
How The Ability To Write Changed Us
One of the big debates which lasted up to the Renaissance was about who invented writing. With both archaeology and chronology all but unknown,...
The Warhol Authentication Problem
Today, discerning which Warhol pictures are genuine is the business of authenticators, whose trained eyes and in-depth knowledge are supposed to be bulwarks against...
Powell’s Books Employees Get A New Union Contract
The ratification follows 10 months of negotiations and multiple rejected contracts, including one proposed by Powell's management in August and another in November. - Publishers Weekly
The British Museum’s Terrible No Good Very Bad Year
The thefts took place over 30 years, and many of the 2,000 missing items were among millions in the museum’s collection that had not...
What Theatre Ticket Prices Look Like Across The UK
The average top-end ticket outside of London comes in at £49.19, compared with £141.37 for West End shows, while the average cheapest ticket in...
Pulitzer Winners Join Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over Copyright
The writers, including Pulitzer Prize winners Taylor Branch, Stacy Schiff and Kai Bird told the court on Tuesday that the companies infringed their copyrights by using...
AI Is Coming For Culture
A.I. fans argue that if artists ignore ethical questions and embrace A.I., we could produce more. “A.I. could help you write 100 books in...
What Fandom Has Become (Courtesy The Internet)
Modern fandom online is a vast and varied place, and some of its practices are shaped by the platforms where fan communities gather. On...
Not My Culture: The Internet Has Truly Gotten Worse
"There was a time in my life when it was trivial to sign up to a new social network and pick up its patterns...
Why Wagner Isn’t Canceled (Despite Everything)
"What should Wagner look like in the age of the Wagner Group? How can the hammer of the Norse god Thor appear on stage,...
The Internet Is Unraveling In Front Of Us
The very idea of popularity is up for debate: Is that trend really viral? Did everyone see that post, or is it just my little...
Evidence Smartphones Are Making Students Dumber
Researchers such as Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge have shown that various measures of student well-being began a sharp decline around 2012 throughout the...
Arts Journalism Is Fading In New Zealand. How To Save It?
There is a significant audience for arts and culture: 96% of adults in Aotearoa New Zealand participated in arts and cultural events in the past three...
We All Believed In Santa. But At What Age Should You Stop Believing?
Children start to distinguish fantasy from reality around preschool, but a belief in Santa Claus or Father Christmas usually lasts longer, to around seven...
Widespread Body Shaming In UK Dance Schools
In total, the BBC has now spoken to more than 100 former dancers who attended UK schools from the 1990s through to the present...
National Theatre Wales Dismayed By 100 Percent Funding Cut
Arts Council of Wales (ACW) previously announced that the theatre charity's £1.6m support was to be cut down to nothing following an investment review....
UK Trend: More Standing Ovations In The Theatre
"Like all exuberant behaviour, it takes you off the scale, so if you are really overwhelmed you have nowhere to go aside from making...
Chrissie Hynde On The State Of The Music Business
"Honestly, the majority is always wrong. Music is just the backdrop to their life. I’m not saying that mainstream music isn’t important to them,...
And Now… Parties Where People Get Together And… Read
The parties, which began in May, take place on rooftops, in parks and at bars. The premise is simple: Show up with a book,...
Bollywood Is Huge — AI Might Change Everything
According to a 2019 Deloitte report, India has the largest film industry in the world in terms of films produced each year. The industry...
Man Is Mistaken For A Famous Author, Given An Award, Asked To Speak…
I was in Rimini as a thoroughly marginal person—however fine a speaker, however deserving of my medal, I would surely never have been invited...
The Humanities Have Sown The Seeds Of Their Own Troubles
If the humanities have become more political over the past decade, it is largely in response to coercion from administrators and market forces that prompt disciplines...
Global Movie Box Office Down 5 Percent In 2023
“Given that we lost 50% of production time in 2023, the anticipated 5% year-on-year decrease in 2023 is not indicative of a declining interest...