Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
One Of Canada’s Top Contemporary Groups Calls It Quits
“We have been here for 35 years. We have made 300 creations, several international tours, 11 Canadian tours, and 70 concerts across the country....
Why The World’s Best Chess Players Are Too Good To Win
Accurate is the word of the match so far. Inevitably, the string of draws is the main narrative out of Dubai; no one has won...
The Rise Of The Media “Comfort Creator”
“With the terror of a global pandemic sending anxiety sky high and rendering TV one of the few safe entertainment outlets, the desire for...
It’s Been Ten Years Since Robert Battle Took Over Leading Alvin Ailey Company
“The knee-jerk thing is to overcorrect,” he continued. “But sometimes you need to double down in your mission. Sometimes you have to think about...
Author Alice Sebold Apologizes To Man Cleared Of Her 1981 Rape Featured In Her...
“My goal in 1982 was justice – not to perpetuate injustice,” she said. “And certainly not to forever, and irreparably, alter a young man’s...
Man Buys Lucian Freud Painting. Freud Gets Mad And Disowns It. That’s A Problem…
Or it was. Now the buyer has had the painting authenticated by three experts who confirm the authorship... - The Guardian
Ten Best Performances Of 2021 (Yeah, We Know, ’21 Isn’t Done, But…)
The list is utterly subjective and non-comprehensive—no matter how much you watch, there’s somehow much more you’ve missed—but it includes ten people (or groups...
What Ails Us: Our Search For Cures
Adam Phillips tells us again and again, the quest for self-improvement is itself the problem. What we suffer from “are our self-cures”, otherwise known...
The Korean Who May Be The Most-Listened-To Living Composer In The World Right Now
Korea accounts for 20 percent of worldwide classical music sales, with a much younger audience base than in the West. The K-pop juggernaut needs...
Tony Kushner, Architect Of A New Great Historical Mistake
Among my favorite Kushner quotes: “Dare to participate in the great historical mistake of your time.” The particular mistake he has in mind is...
Can You Really Copyright A Recipe?
U.S. copyright law seeks to protect “original works of authorship” by barring unauthorized copying of all kinds of creative material: sheet music, poetry, architectural works,...
The $150 Million Arts Initiative That Connected Arts And Communities
ArtPlace leaders announced their venture would prove the arts was an economic engine. Investing in arts and culture, “can be the economic equivalent of...
San Francisco Opera Is About To Turn 100 Years Old
When it comes to established and continuously active opera companies in North America, there is the Metropolitan, founded in 1883 ... and then San Francisco Opera....
Inside The NFT Hype Bubble
After “community,” the second-most used word at NFT.NYC is probably “rich.” As in, “Do you want to be rich?” The speakers ask the audience...
How The Salt Lake City Tribune Escaped A Hedgefund, Went Non-Profit, And Stabilized
It’s been quite the turnaround. Utah’s largest newspaper escaped the clutches of the hedge fund Alden Global Capital in 2016 only to see its...
How The Arab Spring Changed Arab Literature
Tied to both the 2011 revolution and, to a lesser extent, the 1952 military coup that reshaped Egyptian society, the works reflect the ways...
Looted Ancient Sculptures From Palmyra Returned To Syria
The sculptures dating from the second or third century were smuggled into Switzerland in 2009 or 2010, before the outbreak of the Syrian war....
Met Museum Gets $125 Million To Jumpstart Modern Wing
The gift represents an important leap forward for the Met project, which is now expected to cost about $500 million and calls for creating...
Australian PM Introduces New Laws To Unmask Online Trolls
"The online world should not be a wild west where bots and bigots and trolls and others are anonymously going around and can harm...
Dance Companies Rethink Asian Stereotypes In “Nutcracker”
The changes are the result of a yearslong effort by performers and activists to draw attention to Asian stereotypes in “Nutcracker.” - The New...
How The Guerilla Girls Got Their Groove
“We discovered early on that if you could make someone who disagreed with you laugh, then you had a hook inside their brain. Once...
This Year’s ArtBasel Stupid Art Trick: Cheetos Dust!
Because taping a goddamn banana to a wall was not enough, no, the art world needed to do something even more stupid involving food....
A Global Shortage Of Paint
The pandemic has created a labor shortage of plant workers and drivers that has clogged up supply chains in the face of rising demand...
Is Society Failing, Post-Pandemic?
Jill Lepore: Of course, there is such a thing as society. The question now is how the pandemic has changed it. Speculating about what...
Study: Year Into Pandemic, Audience Values Arts More
65% of respondents said they preferred in-person to online cultural activities. Only 9% favored online experiences, while a more significant 26% is defined as...