Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Will Steinway Lose Access To Wood For Its Soundboards?
The secret to the sound isn’t merely Steinway’s skilled craftsmen but the specialized wood they use for the soundboards. It comes from the Tongass...
The Contemporary Art Gallery Model Is Dying
In cities like New York and Los Angeles, dedicated spaces that once buzzed with foot traffic and formal openings are now struggling with rising...
A Place You Probably Don’t Want To Live: Oklahoma To Vet Teachers With America...
Oklahoma’s public education superintendent, Ryan Walters, told USA Today and CNN that the 50-question certification exam – which is reportedly set to roll out in the coming days...
That’s Just Skibidi: Cambridge Dictionary Adds New Words
“Skibidi”, “tradwife” and “delulu” are among the new words to have made this year’s Cambridge Dictionary in a selection that confirms the increasing influence...
Republicans To Ban Rainbow Painted Crosswalks
Across the state and the country, this and thousands of other brightly painted street crossings would be paved over under guidance recently issued by...
What To Do About AI In College? Too Late. Students Have Already Embraced It
Three years later, the AI transformation is just about complete. By the spring of 2024, almost two-thirds of Harvard undergrads were drawing on the tool at...
Skipping The Little Guys: Big Galleries Are Signing Emerging Artists
With high-end sales softening and galleries shuttering, mega-galleries are looking downmarket, encroaching on price points once dominated by younger dealers. The result? A reshuffling...
A New Approach To Disaster Relief Housing In Hawaii
“We hoped to convince them that their paradigm was inhumane and had to change. The housing had to be more robust and more thoughtful...
This Year’s Edinburgh Festival Was Filled With Unease
Many of the finest productions I saw in the Fringe took the position of living memorials to horrors. Sometimes an insistence on accuracy turned...
An Indie DC Bookstore That Became A Publisher. And It’s Thriving
The longtime independent bookseller on Connecticut Avenue runs an in-house publishing operation, called Opus, that allows authors to self-publish their work. This side business has...
Has The Digital Age Led To A Golden Period Of Reading?
The fact that social reading goes beyond the individual requires an astute consideration of digital community, because “interactions and bonds between individuals meeting via...
As More Libraries Ban Books, California Libraries Offer A Solution
To combat book censorship, some Southern California public libraries, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego, are joining libraries nationwide to provide access...
Live Music Is Booming. And Hip Hop Acts Are Selling Out Big Shows
This summer Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Tyler, the Creator, GloRilla, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne and Wu-Tang Clan have packed arenas, amphitheaters and stadiums in the...
What AP Dropping Book Reviews Means To Publishing
Historically, AP arts coverage has been particularly important because smaller and local papers tend to syndicate AP reviews, which are written for a wide,...
As Streaming Platforms Enshittify, Some Return To Piracy
While some people never abandoned piracy, others admit they have recently returned – this time turning to unofficial streaming platforms. One commonly used app...
The Bob Ross Painting Market Is Booming
The paintings, which both date to around 1990 or ’91, attracted five or six bidders over the course of the sale, with offers from...
An Impromptu Delayed In-Flight Jazz Performance That Went Viral
In a now-viral video, Dave Koz and the Summer Horns performed their rendition of Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothing" in an impromptu concert...
Why Scientists Studying At MIT Are Writing Poetry
In the midst of a technological revolution, while taking on a notoriously difficult courseload, why have they chosen to devote their time to the...
PBS To Cut 21 Percent From Its Budget
The 21 percent cut was approved Wednesday by PBS’s board, which also voted to reduce dues paid by local stations by $35 million. That...
Famous Coded Art At CIA, Unsolved For 35 Years, Is For Sale
When artist Jim Sanborn talks about “Kryptos,” his sculpture at the CIA headquarters, and the famously unsolved secret code engraved in its copper panels, he sounds...
The AI Voice Is Taking Over
It’s not just that we’re adopting AI language — it’s about how we’re starting to sound. Even though current studies mostly focus on vocabulary,...
Writers Pull Out Of Australian Festival, Charging That Speakers’ Code Is Censorship
“The actual wording of requires me to engage in complete self-censorship, so, such as a profound act of gaslighting." - The Guardian
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Company Rebrands
The company will develop brand and franchise strategies for titles including The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and Starlight Express....
A Peek Inside A Pianist’s Brain As He’s Playing Bach
Nicolas Namoradze’s Neurorecital saw pieces from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier accompanied by images of the performer’s brain activity, allowing an unprecedented peek into the mind...
Mindfulness Is Spreading In US Schools. Is It Helping?
Researchers estimate that over 1 million children in the U.S. have been exposed to mindfulness in their schools, mostly at the elementary level, often taught...
