Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Is ACE Rethinking Funding For English National Opera? It Still Needs A London Home
Debate in the Lords focused on the term “grand opera”, which fans of lyric theatre believe was deliberately used by ACE to imply that...
I Asked Chat GPT To Write My AP English Essay (And I Passed)
You can tell it to write a 500-word essay about “The Great Gatsby” or the Spanish Inquisition. So I did what any masochistic tech...
How “It’s A Wonderful Life” Became A Classic (By Accident)
It wasn’t Frank Capra or Jimmy Stewart or the enduring power of cinema that made it a lasting success. It was neglect. “The damnedest...
Important Lessons About How Theatres Work From The Victory Gardens Fiasco
The conflict seems to come down to addressing the gap between what boards can do legally and what they should do to build trust, transparency, and community, especially...
Putin Clamps Down On Culture In Russia
“The presidential decree gives us, the culture authorities, guidelines to provide state support only to projects that obey the requirements. We now feel a...
Warning: Scottish Culture Funding Cuts Will Be “Devastating” To Creative Industries
“The Scottish Government makes great play of our cultural heritage and the importance of promoting culture. The cuts they are making – £7...
MoMA And Santa Barbara Museum Of Art Sued For Art Looted By Nazis
The plaintiffs claim the artwork were stolen from Fritz Grünbaum by the Nazis via an unlawful power of attorney while he was imprisoned and...
The Medieval Great Hall Was The Center Of Home Culture
Up to the 13th century, the great hall remained the focal point of the household, and the primary location for heat. - The Conversation
UK Report: Listenership of Music Up, But Musicians Faring Much Worse
Six in ten professional musicians say they are worse off financially now compared to the same time last year. Nine out of ten are...
Broadway Is Having Trouble Selling Tickets
“Nobody wants to admit that they’re not selling tickets. Because of COVID, now Broadway is sort of admitting … sales are down, audiences are...
When Words Are Unshackled From Their Meanings
Detached from agency, the meanings of new terms drift. Nonprofit organizations alert supporters to “donation opportunities,” though “a chance to give” has half the...
When The Watched Become The Watchers (Kafka’s Warning)
What’s the point of watching workers? Maybe, as Franz Kafka suggested in a short parable, the point is not simply to alter a person’s...
Guardian Critics’ Best Architecure And Visual Art Of 2022
The newspaper's critics weigh in on the best they saw this year. - The Guardian
Norman Foster’s Plan To Rebuild Kharkiv
Working pro bono with engineering studio Arup, the Norman Foster Foundation and Kharkiv Group of Architects, Foster + Partners founder Foster has developed a masterplan for the rejuvenation of...
The “Dark Academia” Microtrend
According to Google’s Year in Search, an annual retrospective of trending searches compiled by the tech company, dark academia was among ten trending interior styles...
Royal Shakespeare Company’s Income Rebounds (Big Time)
In 2020/21, when activities were restricted due to lockdowns, the RSC’s box office income was £94,000. This rose to £12.5 million for 2021/22, and...
The Value Of Thoughts Expressed As Writing
When someone talks about a “good writer,” the phrase suggests a way with words, an ear for rhythm, maybe even a structural vision. But...
How Podcasts Captured The Radical Mind This Year
Part of why I think podcasts recounting historical instances of extremism have been so prolific this year is because they offer a hungry but...
Pittsburgh Arts Audiences – How They’ve Changed Since Before COVID
For some arts organizations subscriptions have slipped, but single-ticket demand has offset the drop. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Iceland’s Prime Minister Is Writing Crime Novels
She made her mark on the global cultural map this year when she published her first thriller novel, entitled 'Reykjavík', which she co-wrote with...
Defining The Idea Of Beauty
Beauty is what we find, create, and propagate, either through imitation – creating a copy, another iteration – or through distribution of the thing...
The Golden Age Of Streaming Is Sputtering
The never-ending supply of new programming that helped define the streaming era — spawning shows at a breakneck pace but also overwhelming viewers with...
Why Artists Are Upset About AI-Generated Images
The fact that art styles and techniques are now transferable in this way is immensely disruptive and extremely upsetting for artists. As technologies like...
A Very Difficult Year For Literary Magazines
Mark Krotov, the co-editor and publisher of the eighteen-year-old literary journal n+1, noted that the publishing industry relies on literary magazines but fails to invest...
Alex Ross: The Future Of Orchestra Music Directors
We don’t need more itinerant maestros who draw big salaries in multiple cities. We need more directorships along the lines of ones in which...
