Glad to hear that the professional critics have been squeezed out. Spent many hours in art school back in the 1980s reading dense art criticism texts. That shit made no sense at all. Some of the most obscurantist writing on the planet. My impression was that much of it was writing for the sake of writing.
When I was in art school, most of the faculty were men and they were mostly abstract expressionist painters. Sitting through a critique with some of them was far less exciting than watching paint dry. Had one instructor who would sit there for 5-10 minutes, in total silence, while he contemplated some boring art work by one of my other students. I'm a very patient guy, but in the final 3 hour critique--which was an important factor in our final grade--I walked out after the first hour.
I didn't like abstract expressionism as a student, but I understand it better now.
I'm fortunate now to live in a city with a thriving arts scene.
Chuck