Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why Is Canada’s CBC Moving Away From Classical Music?
The orchestras and concerts have disappeared and so has most of the critical commentary associated with them. To be blunt about it, from a...
How “Infodemics” Of Conspiracies Spread
The current infodemic isn’t just familiar because of this history. Culture constantly recycles materials: stories are re-told, revised and re-told again. - The Conversation
Ghostbusters Director Ivan Reitman, 75
Born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Canada (where he first met such young comics as his later stars Dan Aykroyd and Rick Moranis), Reitman...
Mexico Passed A Cultural Appropriation Law. It Doesn’t Seem To Be Working
To fight back against the plagiarism and dispossession of Indigenous art, Mexico has approved a law meant to protect and safeguard the cultural heritage...
St. Valentine Had Nothing To Do With Romance. So Why A Day?
The name was so popular that over 30 Valentines, not to mention “a few Valentinas,” ultimately achieved sainthood. However, no matter which Valentine you...
When The Olympics Had Arts Competitions
Between the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and the 1948 London Olympics, artistic competition was a vibrant part of the summer Olympic games. There were five categories in...
Welcome Rituals And The Meaning Of Land Acknowledgments
Native land acknowledgements may sound to some like newfangled expressions of liberal guilt, but they have their origin in the centuries-old welcoming practices of...
The Case For Translators As Collaborators
For Jennifer Croft, the campaign to bring greater recognition to translators isn’t just a plea for attention and credit, though it’s partly that. Croft...
The Case Against The Contemporary American Essay
Explanations for the twenty-first-century personal essay boom are as various as the answers to an inkblot test, and nearly as revealing. - The Drift
A Warning That The Bamiyan Valley Will Collapse Within Ten Years
In 2003, the area was put on Unesco’s World Heritage in Danger list. Now rapid building work and digging under the new rule of...
Australia Arts Groups Feel The Freeze
The lack of CPI (which rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to December 2021 according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data) coupled with no increase...
How Fringe Theories Multiply
Devotees of a fringe theory are usually committed to more than one. They might start with just one, but fringes have a way of...
Belgian Museum Returns Nazi-Stolen Painting After 80 Years
After years of research, the painting has been returned, the first restitution of any artwork looted from a Jewish family in the second world...
The “Most Important Archaeological Find In The UK” In A Century
A 5,000-year-old chalk sculpture discovered in east Yorkshire, due to be displayed at the British Museum, has been described as the most important piece of...
The End Of Mass Market Products
Mobility, consumer expectations, and technology are evolving exponentially, and there is huge appetite for low-friction user experiences, on-demand delivery, and personalized manufacturing. These are...
Peter Jackson Tops Highest-Paid Entertainer List
Last year he sold his fx company. Forbes estimates Jackson personally made about $600m in cash and $375m in stock from the deal, making...
MoviePass Is Back
“We’re looking at this from another point of view,” Stacy Spikes said of the company’s relaunch, adding that he now plans to run the...
What Happens When You Teach School Kids About Racism
We are in a cultural moment in which teaching about racism and the world it has made is both essential and controversial. Critics rallying under...
How Three Canadian Museums Are Dealing With Having Mishandled Indigenous History
The Royal BC Museum’s troubles go beyond outdated exhibits. Allegations of a toxic, racist work environment were on display for all to see, after...
Immersive Art Experiences Are Taking Over
Operated by artist studios, collectives, and production companies, these projects range in finesse from sophisticated new-media installations to animated retrospectives of Impressionist painters. -...
National Gallery of Canada Establishes New Decolonization Department
The National Gallery of Canada has committed to reimagining its collections and programs from a decolonial perspective. Today the museum announced the creation of the Department...
I Used To Sing Opera (It Didn’t Go Well)
Every time I have an audition, I get sick. I spend hours steaming my vocal cords over a bowl at the kitchen table, gargling...
UK Library Use Plummeted Last Year
Physical library visits fell from 214.6m to 59.7m in the year to March 2021, a drop of 72%, as Covid-19 restrictions shut branches for...
Six Big Magazines — Including Entertainment Weekly — To Quit Print Publication
“It is not news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a...
Disney+ Adds Huge Number Of Subscribers, Now Growing Faster Than Netflix
Disney added 11.8 million Disney+ subscribers globally in the fiscal first quarter, topping the average analyst estimate of around 7 million, according to StreetAccount. -...