Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
We’ve Made Progress. But The Thing About Progress Is It Has To Progress…
Those without the vision to produce art as means toward an end, rather than the end itself, have placated the wealthy donors who are...
What If We Stripped Humanities Education Back To First Principles?
The Catherine Project’s commitment, borne out beautifully by our seminars thus far, is that great books are supremely egalitarian: They move and challenge us...
Theatre Norms: Always Changing
The 19th century brought about the popularization of the proscenium arch: an architectural feature that effectively separates the audience from the actors on stage. Alongside...
Two Books Explore What It’s Really Like To Be A Ballerina
There are dancers, and there are ballerinas. Just like there are cooks, and then there are chefs. - Alastair Macaulay
The Cultures Of Science And Art Aren’t So Different After All
Did cultural movements in art fertilize scientific breakthroughs? It’s an intriguing correlation, perhaps not much more. But it underscores the point that one culture,...
What Are You Buying When You Buy An NFT?
Critics of NFTs assert that it’s ridiculous to try to claim ownership of something that can be infinitely reproduced on the internet, and pranksters...
Spain Says UK Musicians Will No Longer Need Visas To Perform There
Spain’s announcement means UK musicians and their crew will no longer need visas for engagements of less than 90 days, a change in policy...
Book Business Is Booming. Except It’s Difficult To Get Books To Sell
In 2020, both the United States and the United Kingdom saw their largest annual increases in over a decade — a worldwide paper shortage and a global shipping...
The Software That Changed How Music Is Produced
“It created a completely new type of producer. It gave access to a versatile tool that would do what people want without spending thousands...
A Worldwide Vinyl Shortage
Around the world, vinyl pressing facilities are stretched to the limit with 24-hour, nearly seven-days-a-week production still not meeting demand. - CBC
They’re Restoring The 1920s-Era Hollywood Sign
Crews uncovered in the foundation the names and handprints of some of the workers on the 1978 rebuild’s crew. The remnants of a “lean-to...
Abu Dhabi Says It Will Build Two More Major Museums
“In Abu Dhabi there has been a very clear and conscious decision to invest in culture, and investing in culture does not just mean...
What Does An Investment In Mental Health For Dancers Look Like?
Encouraging dancers to pay attention to their mental health is one thing, but actually providing access to services sends an entirely different message. -...
Song-writer Dave Frishberg, 88
His songwriting wit was for grown-ups, yet he reached his widest audience with sharpshooting ditties for kids as a regular musical contributor to ABC-TV’s...
Talk To The Hand – How Our Hands Help Us Communicate
I hadn’t perceived how hard it is to read the responses of one’s audience when the most expressive part of the face is hidden. -...
Will The Supreme Court Finally Declare Copyright Piracy Theft? (Wait… What?)
For quite some time, there’s been an esoteric debate running in intellectual property circles as to whether copyright infringement is best characterized as thievery. -...
Why Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla Is Stepping Down In Birmingham
If this period of enforced home life made her reassess her priorities – she lives in Salzburg with her husband and their two children...
A Sharp Rise In Demands To Ban Books In Libraries
“We’re seeing an unprecedented volume of challenges. I’ve worked for ALA for 20 years, and I can’t recall a time when we had multiple...
Why Did We Organize Time Into Seven-Day Weeks?
The development that really established the seven-day week as insurmountable, David Henkin contends, came in the middle of the twentieth century: the television schedule....
Why Does Sad Music Make Us Feel Better?
It can act as a social surrogate. Sad music can be experienced as an imaginary friend who provides support and empathy after loss. -...
Education As A Class Indicator (But Maybe Not How You Think)
Historically, in America, the true strength of the Classics and of a Classical education has not been among the elite but among the rising...
Technology Is Promising Boosts To Your Enlightenment
Technoboosts include brain stimulation, which uses electric currents or other means to directly target certain brain areas and change their behavior, and synthetic psychedelics,...
Why We Sleep
Sleep’s benefits extend far beyond the brain, and that muscles, the immune system, and the gut can all have a say in when and...
Students And Teachers Of The Afghanistan National Institute of Music Flee
The school became known for supporting the education of girls, who make up about a third of the student body. The school’s all-female orchestra,...
As Beirut’s Conditions Deteriorate, Its Orchestra Plays On
As the value of Lebanese money fell, the 100 or so musicians in the orchestra watched the value of their pay fall from $3,000...