In ‘Struggle,’ Jacob Lawrence Reclaimed African Americans’ Place In American History
In February 1953, Time magazine declared Jacob Lawrence “the nation’s (and probably the world’s) foremost Negro painter.” Lawrence was about…
Meredith Stern’s ‘Cooperation Cats’ Show How We Can Thrive Together
“I really wanted to highlight the strength of the human condition. When we work together we’re stronger,” Meredith Stern says…
The Beautiful Desolation Of Photographer Laura McPhee’s ‘Desert Chronicle’
“Laura McPhee: Desert Chronicle”—on view at Boston’s Carroll and Sons gallery from Dec. 4, 2019, to Feb. 1, 2020—is a…
Reconsidering Ancient Nubia At The MFA
“Ancient Nubia Now”—on view at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts from Oct. 13, 2019, to Jan. 20, 2020—showcases treasures from…
Jeffu Warmouth's Giant Inflated Head Stuffed With Ideas, Daily Concerns, Neuroses
The centerpiece of Jeffu Warmouth’s exhibition “Urgent Blowout,” at Boston Sculptors Gallery from Dec. 11, 2019, to Jan. 26, 2020,…
Joseph Wheelwright Found The Fairy Tales Within Sticks And Stones And Bones
Joseph Wheelwright’s sculptures originate in myths or fairy tales—crescent moons with dreamy faces; ancient personages that seem to emerge from…
Free! How To Get Into New England Museums Without Paying
Wondering how to get into a New England museum without paying? Below is Wonderland’s guide to free days at institutions…
Can You Recognize These Gingerbread Landmarks From Boston Architects?
Each year the Boston Society of Architects’ “Gingerbread Design Competition and Exhibition”–on view at BSA Space, 290 Congress St., Boston,…
Wonderland's Most-Read Posts Of 2019
Below are Wonderland’s most popular posts of 2019, the ones that brought in the most readers and bots. Thanks everyone…
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…
'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…
Nina MacLaughlin’s ‘Wake, Siren’: A MeToo Retelling Of Ancient Greek And Roman Tales
Nina MacLaughlin says that she began her brilliant, lyrical, painful new book “Wake, Siren” when she took a stab at…
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…
'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: 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…
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: 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…
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…
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…