Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why Is Hollywood Stuck On Rerun?
Hollywood, it appears, is stuck on repeat, sucked with an ever-more deafening gurgle into a death cycle of creative bankruptcy desperately presented as comfort...
Tate Modern Is 25 Years Old. It’s Just Launched An Ambitious Endowment Campaign. Good...
The gallery’s reserves have dropped sharply – from £22.6m in 2022–23 to £10.9m at the end of 2024. Government support is also in decline:...
Can Ken Burns Tell A Definitive Version Of American History?
Since his 1990 series “The Civil War” drew record viewership to PBS and crossed over into pop culture, Burns has proven time and again...
Room For The Straight White Male Writer?
“Unwilling to portray themselves as victims (cringe, politically wrong), or as aggressors (toxic masculinity), unable to assume the authentic voices of others (appropriation), younger white...
What Theatre Tickets Cost In 2025 London
Overall average cheapest ticket to a show in London’s Theatreland district now costs £30.55, up 24.29% from the year prior. In comparison, the overall...
Neuroscience Researcher On Music As Medicine:
"We now have ample evidence that music can help treat a variety of injuries and diseases, including both mental and physical disorders. And I...
UK Government Rejects Proposed Streaming Tax To Support UK Production
The U.K. government has firmly rejected calls for a 5% levy on streaming platforms and mandatory IP retention rules, instead emphasizing the benefits of...
Band Accused Of Being AI After Racking Up 500k Spotify Plays
An account on X has emerged claiming to represent The Velvet Sundown. This account asserts that the band is not at all AI-generated, sharing in...
Did A Federal Court Just Open Our Libraries Up For AI Plundering?
Let’s call this what it is: a case about borrowed books and a legal system struggling to reckon with machines that never ask before...
Why The Music Industry Seems Better-Defended Against AI
As in other creative industries, AI music tools are poised to hollow out the workaday middle of the market. Even new engineering tools have...
Report: Stressed UK Theatres Are Increasingly Playing It Safer
Local theatres are increasingly “playing safe” with their programming, resulting in more one-night events, fewer week-long runs and a significant drop in opera, ballet...
Gallery Powerhouse Blum Will Lay Off Staff And Close, Citing Market Downturn
Founded as Blum and Poe in 1994 in Santa Monica, Calif., by Tim Blum and Jeff Poe, the gallery represents some of the most...
Warner Creates $1+ Billion Fund To Buy Rights To Music Catalogs
Warner Music Group and private investment giant Bain Capital are launching a $1.2 billion joint venture to acquire “legendary” music catalogs across both recorded music...
How Sondheim’s Collection Came To The Library Of Congress
The Library announced this week that it has acquired more than 5,000 items from Sondheim's collection, which will be available to the public on...
Cultural Vandalism: Alberta’s Book-Banning Project
“This isn’t about banning books,” Premier Danielle Smith posted on X. “It’s about protecting kids from graphic, sexually explicit content that has no place...
Canada Debates What Qualifies As Canadian Culture
The outcome will shape who gets to tell Canadian stories and what those stories are, and also which ones count as Canadian under the...
New Project Reveals 700 Years Of Irish History
The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, a global academic collaboration led by Trinity College Dublin, deployed historians, computer scientists and other specialists to digitally recreate...
Hollywood Takes On AI Copyright Rules In Washington
America’s creators are mounting a campaign to push back on any use of their work without permission or compensation, seeking to head off potential abuses of...
Director of São Paulo’s Museu Afro Brasil Out After Less Than Two Years
Hélio Menezes is no longer the director of the Museu Afro Brasil, a key São Paulo institution founded by sculptor Emanoel Araújo that is known for...
Warner Music Announces Layoffs, Cuts
In the memo, reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Kyncl wrote that WMG is looking to reduce costs by about $300 million to “future-proof” the company...
Florida Governor Cuts Funding For Public Radio, TV
Gov. Ron DeSantis cut nearly $6 million in recurring funding to the state’s public radio and TV stations, one day before the state’s 2025...
Study: What Makes A Person “Cool”?
A new study suggests that there are six specific traits that these people tend to have in common: Cool people are largely perceived to be extroverted,...
A New Ballet Company For Venice, A City With A Glittering Dance History
A successful Irish barrister with a long dedication to the arts, she and co-founder and artistic director Alessio Carbone are on an ambitious mission...
Brooklyn Museum Cancels Layoffs After City Comes Through With More Money
Facing a growing deficit, the Brooklyn Museum announced its intent to cut around 47 full- and part-time workers — more than 10% of its staff —...
Inside Egypt’s New Grand Museum (The Opening Is Still In Question)
The museum, which allegedly cost $1 billion dollars, funded largely through Japanese loans and contributions from the Egyptian government, was first proposed by Hosni...
