Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Arts Venues Sue Small Business Administration Over COVID Money
Nearly 50 rejected venue grant applicants have taken the SBA to court, including escape rooms, a dance convention, a circus arts company, a ministry,...
Is Having Two Museum Directors Better Than Having One?
“There’s a lot of structural change underway and nobody knows where this is going. I think there’s a strong desire from all the actors...
How To Fight Disinformation
So is a country’s level of media literacy anything more than a measure of the wealth and the education of its population? How can...
Careful Of Boycotting Russian Artists and Institutions. It’s Difficult To Come Back
"Almost on the hour, we’re hearing about cultural boycotts, departures of curators and directors, and the shuttering of institutions. The moral convictions behind these choices cannot be doubted....
Agreement: Museums Can Remove Sackler Name Without Penalty
The Sacklers would also lose their naming rights at museums and other entities that have received their financial contributions a win for activists who...
Smithsonian To Return Benin Bronzes
A spokeswoman for the Smithsonian, Linda St. Thomas, said most of the 39 pieces would be returned. But she said it was not clear...
Iraq’s National Museum Reopens After Three Years
The newly renovated national museum had closed its doors in 2019 amid escalating anti-government protests in Baghdad. Home to artifacts dating from ancient Mesopotamian,...
Could Technology Help Preserve Musical Theatre Voices?
“Similar to how your iPhone nowadays tells you, ‘Oh, you listened to music a little too loudly this week; watch out, because we don’t...
Why Do So Many Americans Believe Things That Aren’t True? Maybe Because Of How...
Daily journalists, for better or for worse, are hard-wired to leap on departures from the norm, regardless of how miserable, unethical, unfair, and doomed the norm...
Blurring Lines Between Performers And Audiences
The creative potential of the relationship between performers and audience has preoccupied Berlin-based Australian composer Cathy Milliken for decades. - The Guardian
Countries Are Only A Social Construct
A common mistake is to confuse a country with its inhabitants with its government. This leads to statements that are strictly meaningless at best...
Why The Rich Stay Rich
The Italian communist Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) would argue that it was precisely through the proliferation of such norms in our culture—wherein the inequalities of...
Overwhelmed By Culture (What To Do?)
For years now, each day has brought a torrent of new TV shows to watch, movies to see, albums to listen to, podcasts and...
Sensitivity Readers? Why Publishers Need Them
"My background as an author is in young adult fiction, an area in which sensitivity readers are common, especially in the US, so I’m...
Is Tourism Bad For Us?
Tourism is attractive because it underwrites a desire that, when we go overseas, stuff doesn’t get too strange, risky or foreign. Increasingly, we travel...
Can The New Bandcamp Save Indie Music?
Bemused gamers and tech experts, meanwhile, wondered what possible uses a company such as Epic – itself 40% owned by Chinese gaming megacorp Tencent...
Peak Subscribe: Are You Paying For Too Many Subscriptions?
The maturity of the subscription market varies by industry, but in some of the categories best known for these kinds of services, there are...
Netflix Quits Russia
Earlier this week, the streaming service had announced that it would pause all future projects and acquisitions from Russia, joining a growing list of...
Meet The Russian Oligarch On The Guggenheim’s Board (Until Last Week)
“Vladimir Potanin has advised the Board of Trustees of his decision to step down as Trustee effective immediately,” the museum said. “The Guggenheim accepts this...
How The Hermitage Artwashes Russia
According to the 2021 State of Artistic Freedom Report by Freemuse, Russia detained 17 artists in 2020, a number exceeded only by Cuba. Artists are regularly...
International Arts Organizations Scrutinize Russian Artists
Institutions are demanding that artists who have supported Mr. Putin in the past issue clear condemnations of the Russian president and his invasion as...
Kyiv Dancers Quit To Fight In Ukraine Military
Images have circulated online of a principal dancer and ballerina at the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, in camouflage holding weapons. - ClassicFM
Cultural Institutions Wrestle With Whether To Ban Russian Artists
As the war in Ukraine enters its second week, cultural institutions worldwide are grappling with the question of whether to boycott Russian artists, in...
The Politicization and Artistic Downfall Of Valery Gergiev
The idea was that Gergiev could somehow retract his blatant politicization of music and adopt a purist guise when he walked onstage. In fact, if he...
Innovation Is Fine. But Wisdom Creates Longterm Success
Fairly or unfairly, many tech companies with disproportionately young employees and leaders have gone from a shining example of how entrepreneurial capitalism can improve...
