Maira Kalman: ‘If You Don’t Digress And Go Off The Point, I Think You Miss The Point’
“There’s absolutely nothing you can’t talk to children about. They want to know the truth,” author and illustrator Maira Kalman…
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…
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…
How Tape Art Made Murals For Rural Towns Without Big, Centrally-Located Walls
Note: I’ve been commissioned by the Essex County Community Foundation to help document/promote cultural projects from its Creative County Initiative,…
Photographer Frank Stewart's Life In Jazz
“You didn’t get a whole lot of history lessons about African-American culture in school,” Frank Stewart told The New York…
What We Saw At MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo)
MICE, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, was founded in 2010 to focus on the artists—with creators selling their own works…
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…
The Incandescent Chicha Posters That Revolutionarized Peruvian Design
In Peru in the 1980s, a new music exploded in popularity on the radio: Chicha. The word can refer drinks…
Yu-Wen Wu Wins $15K Prize For Boston Women Artists
Yu-Wen Wu, a Taiwan-born, Boston-based artist, has been named the winner of the inaugural $15,000 Prilla Smith Brackett Award, administered…
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…
Unicorns! Gorgons! Manticores! In Metropolitan Chorale's Collaboration With Puppet Showplace Theater
Unicorns, gorgons and other fantastical creatures abound in the Metropolitan Chorale’s performance of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Unicorn, The Gorgon…
Maira Kalman: ‘If You Don’t Digress And Go Off The Point, I Think You Miss The Point’
“There’s absolutely nothing you can’t talk to children about. They want to know the truth,” author and illustrator Maira Kalman…
In Sarah Gailey's 'Magic for Liars,' Investigating Murder At A School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry
In Sarah Gailey’s “Magic for Liars” (Tor Books), a drunk, broke private detective gets hired to solve a murder at…
Traveling Back In Time To Fight The Patriarchy In Annalee Newitz’s ‘Future Of Another Timeline’
Tess has time-traveled to 1992 to attend a riot grrrl concert at the start of Annalee Newitz’s new science fiction…
What We Saw At MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo)
MICE, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, was founded in 2010 to focus on the artists—with creators selling their own works…
Dazzling Masks Of Contemporary Mexican Festivals Seen In Phyllis Galembo’s Photos
Since the mid 1980s, New York photographer Phyllis Galembo has documented the masquerade traditions of festivals and carnivals in Africa…
Illustrator And Disney Artist Kay Nielsen's Glittering Fantasies And Difficult Life
The most famous creation of Kay Nielsen (1886-1957), one of the outstanding illustrators at the dawn of the 20th century,…
Bread and Puppet Theater's 'Diagonal Life’ Challenges Baby Jails, Global Warming, The Unthinkable
“Reality is either horizontal or vertical or both,” a woman explains early in Bread and Puppet Theater’s “Diagonal Life: Theory…
Photos: Boston Circus Guild Brings 'Cirque Of The Dead' To Oberon For Halloween
“The history of Oberon is clouded in mystery,” one of the paranormal investigators warns at the start of the Boston…
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…
Monkeyhouse Performs '8 Feet'
The Malden dance troupe Monkeyhouse closed off part of Seaview Street in that city today to present “8 Feet,” a…
‘Visibility Dance’ Planned After Green Street Studios Announces Closing
Members of Cambridge’s dance community are planning “Circling the Dance Block – a Visibility Dance in Cambridge” for noon on…
Green Street Dance Studios To Shut Down Due To ‘Significant Rent Increase’
Dancers getting ready for a class at Green Street Studios this evening were surprised by today’s announcement that the Cambridge…
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.…
Protesters Demand MIT President Resign Over Role In Epstein Scandal
“Reif, you can’t hide! We demand that you resign!” hundreds of protesters chanted at an “MIT Rally Against Jeffrey Epstein”…
At Protest Over Canceled Cambridge Carnival, Organizers Call For Scaled-Back Festival In Late September
“Preserve our culture!” shouted Cambridge Carnival supporters as they marched down Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge’s Central Square this evening. “Keep…
Bread and Puppet Theater's 'Diagonal Life’ Challenges Baby Jails, Global Warming, The Unthinkable
“Reality is either horizontal or vertical or both,” a woman explains early in Bread and Puppet Theater’s “Diagonal Life: Theory…
What We Saw At MICE (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo)
MICE, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, was founded in 2010 to focus on the artists—with creators selling their own works…
Photos: Boston Circus Guild Brings 'Cirque Of The Dead' To Oberon For Halloween
“The history of Oberon is clouded in mystery,” one of the paranormal investigators warns at the start of the Boston…
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…
Topsfield Fair: Wonderland's Guide To The Marvelous Agricultural Festival
The annual Topsfield Fair, which runs from Oct. 4 to 14 in Topsfield, Mass., is known for its giant pumpkin growing…
Monkeyhouse Performs '8 Feet'
The Malden dance troupe Monkeyhouse closed off part of Seaview Street in that city today to present “8 Feet,” a…
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…
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…
Topsfield Fair: Wonderland's Guide To The Marvelous Agricultural Festival
The annual Topsfield Fair, which runs from Oct. 4 to 14 in Topsfield, Mass., is known for its giant pumpkin growing…
Photos: Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race Braves City Streets, Mud, Merrimack River, Art
The Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race is “a competitive parade of the arts and science. Otherwise known as the triathlon of…
Photos: Nick Cave's 'Joy Parade' In Boston
Artist Nick Cave’s “Joy Parade” today escorted the Chicago artist’s inflatable sculptures (pictured above) from the Boston Center for the…
Photos: Sunset, Storytelling And Stargazing In Malden
Sunset, Storytelling and Stargazing was held atop Waitt’s Mount in Malden, Massachusetts, tonight. It was hosted by Malden Reads: One…
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…
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…
The 5-Year-Old’s Guide To ‘Space’ At Boston’s Museum Of Science
Twice this fall, the 5-Year-Old visited “Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience,” which is on view at Boston’s Museum of Science through Jan.…
The Dazzling ‘Rockefeller Beetles’ Debut At Harvard’s Natural History Museum
The earth is home to 450,000 species of beetles, Brian Farrell, the Harvard University professor and curator of entomology, told…
Fall Bike Ride: Through Lynn Marshes Via The Northern Strand Community Trail
Between Lincoln Avenue and Summer Street in Lynn, there is a dirt stretch of the “Bike to the Sea” Northern…
Dogwood Seedling From Starting Over Festival Sprouts
At the Starting Over Festival that I helped organize in Somerville on April 22, we gave out seedlings. A month…