Coming Attractions
Our expert critics supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, television, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in.
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The Arts Fuse Currents
Music
Happily, the composers on this compelling BMOP program were not cowed by tradition.
Visual Arts
Phyllis Ewen ponders humanity’s perilous relationship with the earth, expressing her concerns through her artwork.
Film
At the Global Cinema Film Festival, some look for love and life in all the wrong places.
Books
This wake-up call — what will artists be asked to do to please the powers-that-be? — is also a good read.
Poetry at The Arts Fuse
This week’s poem: Nicole Callihan’s “The Story”
Dance
All of the gritty challenges for today’s ballet companies are touched on in “Étoile”, including financial troubles, union strikes, rapaciously controlling donors, jealous, egomaniacal dancers, and more bumps in the road.
Theater
The beauty of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” at this political moment is that it provides a firsthand rebuttal to the current administration’s draconian policies — without ever directly acknowledging them.
Television
“Trial 4,” along with other currently streaming crime docuseries, examines the systemic biases, misuse of official force, and internal corruption that impede and subvert justice, undermine convictions, undercut integrity, and erode public trust.
Podcasts
In this conversation, Elizabeth Howard engages with Tyler Wetherall, focusing on how she connects with the literary community in New York City through her newsletter, “Reading the City.”
Short Fuses
Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
Spotlight
About the Arts Fuse
The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication's over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. Support arts coverage that believes that culture matters.
Arts Commentary: From the Editor’s Desk — By Popular Demand, 2025
Back in February of 2024 I began to write a weekly column for AF newsletter on Substack. A few readers have asked that I post these opinion pieces in the magazine. Here is a selection of my favorites of 2025