By Bill Marx

Help us continue to go where other arts magazines fear to tread, recognizing under-appreciated classical music, jazz, and dance performances.

Independent serious arts coverage is rapidly vanishing in the mainstream media, which is why we work so tirelessly at The Arts Fuse to fill this embarrassing gap. And we have done so with well over 5,000 reviews, commentaries, and features on arts and culture written by over 60 writers, ranging from veteran critics from The Boston Globe and the Boston Phoenix to talented fledgling reviewers. This is the magazine’s 12th year — few online publications dedicated to arts coverage have lasted this long. Thanks so much for your help getting us here, but this crucial work must not stop now. Please help sustain this valuable commitment to keeping our culture vibrant.

The arts and culture community appreciates what we are doing. Here’s what they are saying:

The Arts Fuse fills a vital need in the Boston arts criticism community. The writers provide timely and thoughtful features and reviews which spark conversation and inform the public about happenings in Boston and beyond.  — The Boston Camerata and Anne Azéma

The Arts Fuse is an invaluable part of Boston’s arts ecosystem. The depth and breadth of coverage set them apart from their peers in arts criticism. More than once, in recent years, they have been the only outlet covering artists and performances of international relevance. — Jack Wright, The Celebrity Series

Given the dearth of arts critical reporting in the print media, Arts Fuse is the place to go to get critical reporting in Greater Boston. It is the preeminent site for getting news that keeps one in the know! — Tony Williams, City Ballet of Boston / Urban Nutcracker

Among the highlights of the past year:

* the relaunch of The Arts Fuse podcast (new host Deanna Costa) which can be found here

* migration to a new server that protects against hackers and increases the speed and reliability of the online magazine

* subscription to a security platform that protects against spam and malware

Plans for the coming year include

* continuing our public discussions about the future of arts criticism

* revamping our ambitious JUDICIAL REVIEW feature

* continuing to feature dozens of high-quality arts reviews and features.

There are few publications that do what we do!!!

We need your support to present more public discussions and to power the Arts Fuse’s commitment to the mentorship of young critics — as well as to continue to post reviews and features of arts performances that the mainstream media overlook. I am therefore asking you to donate to the cause this month. Our goal is to raise $5,000. This winter appeal must succeed so that the great reviews, commentaries, and features on the arts will keep coming. We turn 13 this coming June.

Please click on one of the donation buttons below (secure sites PayPal and Mightycause). Your contribution is tax deducible. Any donations of $500 or above will be listed (with permission) on the Infuser page of the magazine. It will be our way of thanking you, and making your interest in a meaningful conversation about the arts public.

Here’s to a winter filled with art enjoyment, appreciation — and genuine discussion.

To contribute to The Arts Fuse via PayPal:

PayPal

To contribute to The Arts Fuse via Mightycause

To mail a donation, please make out your check out to Global Narratives, Inc., and send it to:

The Arts Fuse
103 Highland Road
#2
Somerville, MA 02144

Include your email and snail mail address with your check.

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Bill Marx is the editor-in-chief of The Arts Fuse. For over three decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe. He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England.