Those We’ve Lost To Coronavirus
This is intended at a memorial tribute to people in our local cultural community whom we have lost to the…
MFA Cancels All Events And Programs Through Aug. 31
Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts announced last night that due to the coronavirus, it had decided “to cancel all of…
An Interview With ‘Strega Nona’ Artist Tomie dePaola, Who Died Today At Age 85
Tomie dePaola—the New Hampshire artist and children’s book creator who won the Caldecott Honor for his 1975 book “Strega Nona”…
Museum Of Fine Arts Doesn’t Expect To Reopen Before July, Mulls Layoffs
Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts does not expect to be able to reopen before July due to the ongoing spread…
Mass MoCA To Lay Off 120 Due To Coronovirus Closure
Mass MoCA in North Adams announced yesterday “that in response to business interruptions caused by COVID-19 and related government mandates,…
Guerrilla Artist Gives MFA’s Giant Baby Head A Coronavirus Mask
In this moment of coronivirus concern, Peter Agoos thought the giant bronze baby heads by Spanish artist Antonio López García…
Coronavirus Has Cost MA Artists And Cultural Organizations $58.59 Million. So Far.
Coronavirus cancellations and shutdowns have cost Massachusetts artists and cultural organizations at least $58.59 million so far, the Massachusetts Cultural…
At Andy Goldsworthy's 'Watershed,' Hoping For Bad Weather
I’d been keeping an eye on the weather forecasts, looking for a rainy day to visit Andy Goldsworthy’s installation, “Watershed,” on…
April Rents Waived For Galleries In Boston’s South End
As coronavirus is shutting down businesses across the region, GTI Properties—the owner and redeveloper of 19th century mill buildings buildings…
This #MeToo ‘Medusa’ Isn’t The Gorgon You’ve Been Told About
One of the terrible things about the way the story of Medusa is usually told is that her iconic snake…
The Secret Art Of The Godfather Of Boston Punk, Willie Alexander
“It’s here. It’s life. It’s everything. Bam!” Willie “Loco” Alexander tells me as we tour a retrospective of his paintings…
Rediscovering African-American Rock And Roll Pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe
“Rebelling against constraint, she let her voice out in ‘Rock Me’ and ‘That’s All,’ and left the house ecstatic,” The…
Photos: Honk Parade From Somerville To Cambridge
Honk!—the infectious street party and festival of activist street bands—paraded from Davis Square in Somerville to Harvard Square in Cambridge…
As Boston Continues To Exclude Hip Hop, ‘Boston Answering’ Aims To ‘Uplift Some Of The City’s Finest Local Artists’
“A cultural response manifested into a show” is how this Saturday’s “Boston Answering” show at the Strand Theatre in Boston…
Somerville PorchFest: Wonderland’s Totally Biased Guide To This Saturday's Music Fest
Somerville’s annual PorchFest is part hootenanny, part a giant open studios for bands. More than 200 bands acts are scheduled…
An Interview With ‘Strega Nona’ Artist Tomie dePaola, Who Died Today At Age 85
Tomie dePaola—the New Hampshire artist and children’s book creator who won the Caldecott Honor for his 1975 book “Strega Nona”…
Erik Larson’s ‘The Splendid And The Vile’: Churchill And Leadership During A National Calamity
As best-selling historian Erik Larsons’ new World War II book “The Splendid and the Vile” (Crown Publishing) opens, the military…
'Space Invaders'—A Ghost Story Of Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet's Military Junta
A fugue of memories and dreams flow over us in Nona Fernández’s lyrical novella “Space Invaders” (Graywolf Press)—arriving in a…
Monkeyhouse Dance At 'Malden Reads' Kickoff
Karen Krolak, artistic director of Monkeyhouse dance company, performs at the kickoff celebration for the 2020 “Malden Reads,” one-city, one-book…
![The Rendille of northern Kenya’s Kaisut Desert: "Throughout the [Herr Heroon, or bull] ceremony, warriors gather in small groups to perform leaping dances, expressing their unity as a generation. When two warriors leap together the dance is called woyee," Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher write in "African Twilight: The Vanishing Rituals and Ceremonies of the African Continent," 2018. (Rizzoli)](https://gregcookland.com/wonderland/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AfricanTwilight_Book1_p111w530-370x168.jpg)
Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher, Photographers Of African Traditions, Speak At Harvard Dec. 5
For four decades, American born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher have journeyed over 300,000 miles across the African continent,…
In Martin Clark’s ‘Substitution Order,’ A Bedraggled Attorney Gets Caught In A Con
Kevin Moore had been a star attorney, beloved by his clients as well as fellow lawyers, judges, probation officers and…
'Detroit Red': Malcolm X Comes Of Age In Boston
For DigBoston, I recently previewed “Detroit Red,” a “theatrical exploration of the life of Malcolm X as he dwelled and…
Gloria Steinem At ART’s ‘Gloria’: ‘I Don’t Have Time For You To Applaud Because We Have A Lot Of Organizing To Do’
The audience broke into applause as Gloria Steinem strode onto the stage at the end of Jan. 30 opening night…
From The Co-Founder Of Wee The People, A Puppet Show For Kids About Standing Up To Strongmen
“Kids don’t get enough credit that they can understand what’s going on. Racism isn’t going to end until people start…
This #MeToo ‘Medusa’ Isn’t The Gorgon You’ve Been Told About
One of the terrible things about the way the story of Medusa is usually told is that her iconic snake…
How I Ended Up In A Boat With Captain Ahab Chasing The White Whale In A.R.T.’s ‘Moby-Dick’
Perhaps I should have been mindful that stepping into any boat with Captain Ahab—who doomed his crew via his maniacal…
Photos: Bread & Puppet’s ‘Honey Let’s Go Home! Opera’
When people think of Bread and Puppet Theater, they naturally tend to think of the giant puppets and the garlic-slathered…
From The Co-Founder Of Wee The People, A Puppet Show For Kids About Standing Up To Strongmen
“Kids don’t get enough credit that they can understand what’s going on. Racism isn’t going to end until people start…
Photos: Annual AIDS Vigil at Boston Cyclorama
The 28th annual “24 Hour Vigil – Day With(Out) Art -World AIDS Day” art installation took place at the Boston…
Shepard Fairey Returns To Providence: ‘It’s Pretty Punk Rock To Try To Unite’
Shepard Fairey—one of the most famous street artists in the world, known for his “Obey” Andre the Giant graphics to…
Photos: Honk Parade From Somerville To Cambridge
Honk!—the infectious street party and festival of activist street bands—paraded from Davis Square in Somerville to Harvard Square in Cambridge…
Giant Opioid Spoon Arrives At Library To Protest Companies Behind Drug Crisis
In June 2018, an 800-pound, 4-foot-high, 10-foot-long aluminum spoon appeared in front of the headquarters of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma…
Photos: Boston Climate Strike Demands Action To Halt Global Warming
Thousands rallied at Boston City Hall Plaza for the Boston Climate Strike today and then marched to the State House.…
Photos: Boston During Coronavirus
Scenes from greater Boston since it began shutting down to stem the spread of coronavirus during the week of March…
Photos: Lunar New Year at Peabody Essex Museum
Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum hosted its annual Lunar New Year Festival on Jan. 25. It featured performances by the Gund Kwok…
Photos: Lunar New Year Celebration In Malden
Chinese Culture Connection hosted its annual Lunar New Year Celebration, to mark the start of the Year of the Mouse…
The Year In Photos: Art And Activism In 2019
Art and activism across Boston and New England as I witnessed it in 2019. (Note: Some photos feature events by…
Photos: Bread & Puppet’s ‘Honey Let’s Go Home! Opera’
When people think of Bread and Puppet Theater, they naturally tend to think of the giant puppets and the garlic-slathered…
Photos: Annual AIDS Vigil at Boston Cyclorama
The 28th annual “24 Hour Vigil – Day With(Out) Art -World AIDS Day” art installation took place at the Boston…
Photos: Lunar New Year at Peabody Essex Museum
Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum hosted its annual Lunar New Year Festival on Jan. 25. It featured performances by the Gund Kwok…
Photos: Lunar New Year Celebration In Malden
Chinese Culture Connection hosted its annual Lunar New Year Celebration, to mark the start of the Year of the Mouse…
Carol Beckwith And Angela Fisher, Photographers Of African Traditions, Speak At Harvard Dec. 5
For four decades, American born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher have journeyed over 300,000 miles across the African continent,…
Photos: Annual AIDS Vigil at Boston Cyclorama
The 28th annual “24 Hour Vigil – Day With(Out) Art -World AIDS Day” art installation took place at the Boston…
Photos: Malden Parade Of Holiday Traditions
“Songbirds for Diversity” by Wonderland Spectacle Co. and friends were honored to be part of the 2019 Malden Parade of Holiday…
Dazzling Chinese Lanterns At Montreal’s Jardin Botanique
One of the highlights of Montreal each fall is the “Gardens of Light,” which illuminates the Chinese Garden at the…
Shepard Fairey Returns To Providence: ‘It’s Pretty Punk Rock To Try To Unite’
Shepard Fairey—one of the most famous street artists in the world, known for his “Obey” Andre the Giant graphics to…
Dazzling Chinese Lanterns At Montreal’s Jardin Botanique
One of the highlights of Montreal each fall is the “Gardens of Light,” which illuminates the Chinese Garden at the…
New Murals On Beverly’s Cabot Theatre Aim To Illuminate All The Creativity Going On Inside
NOTE: I’ve been commissioned by the Essex County Community Foundation to help document/promote cultural projects from its Creative County Initiative,…
Mural At Salem's It's Raining Pets
Mural at It’s Raining Pets, a dog grooming business in Salem, Massachusetts, Sept. 7, 2019. If this is the kind…
First Look At Three New Somerville Murals
“I wanted to share this idea of home, with the community, with the city of Somerville,” Imagine (Sneha Shrestha), a…
Artist Cages Duckling Statues In Boston Public Garden To Protest Abuse Of Immigrants
Well before dawn last Friday morning, Karyn Alzayer snuck a group of miniature cages into Boston’s Public Garden via “a…
The View From Mount Misery in Lincoln, Massachusetts
The first article in Wonderland’s series about miserable places: At 227 acres, Mount Misery is considered to be the largest…
Taking Care Of Animals At The Stone Zoo During Coronavirus
The flock of flamingos in the Caribbean Coast exhibit continues their honking and fluttering around regardless of the fact that…
Snow!
Snow in Malden, Massachusetts, Jan. 18 to 19, 2020. Photos copyright 2020 Greg Cook. If this is the kind of…
Photos: Winter Solstice Sunrise At Revere Beach
Winter solstice sunrise at Revere Beach, Massachusetts, Dec. 21, 2019. If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures…
Photos: Herring Migrating Upstream In Medford
The Mystic River Watershed Association held a River Herring Open House on May 22, inviting visitors to watch herring swimming…
Woodpecker
Photo copyright 2019 Greg Cook. If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please…