Event – Doors Open Lowell – On Saturday, May 9, 2026, I joined hundreds of people in exploring some of the 29 historic buildings that were open for public viewing. The event was well organized with a shuttle bus making the rounds, distinctive signage at the entrance to each venue, and knowledgeable guides inside, dressed in branded yellow t-shirts. My first stop was the First United Baptist Church on Church Street. It’s the white wooden church that sits amidst the parking lot of the Central Plaza retail complex. Like Lowell, the church celebrates its bicentennial this year. I had never been inside and learned much from my visit. My next stop was the Whistler House Museum of Art on Worthen Street. I’ve been there many times before but each time I go, I see the place and the amazing art inside in a new way. The Smith Baker Center was on the list so I went there hoping to see the inside but there was only exterior viewing with a small canopy tent at the entrance with some interior photos on display. I crossed the street to the Pollard Memorial Library to pick up some books I had ordered. Although the library wasn’t an official Doors Open location, they had a self-guided art and architecture tour map available so I wandered around and was reminded of what an impressive library we have. My last two stops were outside of downtown. First was the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church which is next to the North Common. I had never been inside before and was very impressed with the artwork, the interior architecture and decoration, and the religious icons that fill the church. My final stop was the Stone House, most recently known as Bachand Hall, on Pawtucket Street. Before Lowell was incorporated this building was an inn with a tavern attached, then it became the home of James C. Ayer who became fabulously rich selling medicine, and since then it’s been used for various social service purposes. So congratulations to the organizers and participants of Doors Open Lowell, another great event in the city. 

Obituary – “Dean Tavoularis, 93, Oscar-Winning Production Designer for Coppola, Dies”by Richard Sandomir, New York Times, May 5, 2026. Tavoularis won the academy award for production design for Godfather II but also handled production design for all of the Godfather movies, for Apocalypse Now, and for many other films directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Mr. Tavoularis was born in 1932 in Lowell where his parents rented an apartment in Pawtucketville from the parents of the late former Lowell School Superintendent George Tsapatasaris. However, the Tavoularis family left Lowell for Los Angeles where Constantine, which was Dean’s given name, studied art and architecture. He was then hired to work in one of the old time movie studios. While there, he was hired by the director of Bonnie and Clyde to handle production design for that film which is how he got his start. This made him a “bridge” figure between the old studio system and the young new directors who revolutionized American cinema in the 1960s and 70s. Tavoularis retired from movie making in the 1990s and settled in Paris where he worked as an artist which he said was his dream job. 

Article – “Hope for print, in an unlikely place” by Aidan Ryan, Boston Globe, May 4, 2026. With each day seeming to bring news of the demise of another longtime print publication, this article provides a welcome counterpoint, the story of two print publications that are thriving in the digital age: Yankee Magazine and Old Farmer’s Almanac which are both published by Yankee Publishing of Dublin, New Hampshire. Notably, the company is now employee owned after the family that owned it forever decided to sell it to the employees rather than to some private equity firm that would liquidate it for spare parts. Although both publications are thriving in print – This year’s almanac has sold 1.2 million copies and Yankee has 220,000 subscribers – the company “uses technology for things technology is good at” and humans “for things that should be outputted by humans.” I used to subscribe to Yankee but let it lapse since I have so much else to read. I do buy the almanac every year, almost as a marker that spring is on the way after a long cold winter. I was happy to read that according to this article at least, I’ll be able to keep buying it in the years to come. 

Art Criticism – “At the Venice Biennale, Playing It Safe” by Jason Farago, New York Times, May 9, 2026. My first-ever visit to an art museum came as a senior in college on a class field trip. As life went on, I didn’t avoid art museums, but they weren’t a top priority. That changed about a dozen or more years ago when I suddenly enjoyed seeing works of art in person. Perhaps it was Lowell’s pivot to the cultural economy in the early 2000s and the arrival here of hundreds of artists who have since made our city their home. In any case, I am now a regular museum-goer but I also enjoy art vicariously through the writing of art critics. I’ve never been to Venice and likely never will, but I’ve become aware of a huge art festival held there every other year called the Venice Biennale. As I understand it, there is a huge international pavilion that becomes home to a curated exhibition of contemporary art from around the world, but there are also several dozen permanent national pavilions that each host a display by the country that owns the pavilion. As is the case with much of our government-sponsored art and cultural activities, the current US regime threw out existing plans and instead limited works to those that “reflect and promote American values” (as defined by the regime) and don’t involve DEI. The Times’ critic was not impressed with the result: “The State Department named the Mar-a-Largo-going owner of a Florida pet food store as the pavilion’s commissioner. The honor (or former) honor of representing the United States eventually went to Alma Allen, a competent but hardly compelling sculptor of bronze and marble plaques and curlicutes. The 2026 U.S. Pavilion offers a twinned sensation of outrage and exhaustion. The government’s selection process has debased what was once a major stage for American art . . .”