This week, New York unveils a new and expanded “Culture Pages”—alongside intimate profiles of actors and artists, writers and directors, there’ll be more essays (this week, Bill Wyman on the mercurial David Bowie), more room for photography (FX’s The Americans blowing up a split-level in Queens), more seriousness about the fun stuff and more fun about the serious stuff. Readers fearing that this means less actual criticism shouldn’t worry. Our own critics can be found in a distinct section called simply “Critics.” Which in this issue includes Scott Brown praising Zosia Mamet’s stage presence, Justin Davidson on the architect you’ve never heard of who shaped New York, Jerry Saltz on the birth of modern art, and David Edelstein’s critique of Stoker, with Nicole Kidman.
The new “Culture Pages” also marks the debut of “To Do,” an eclectic list of essential cultural recommendations for the week that will replace the comprehensive event listings that have run in this magazine for decades, but which with every passing day seem to have a more natural home on the web. That full calendar will be there, on nymag.com—detailed listings for theater, art shows, restaurants, and everything else you can do in the city. In the print magazine, each week, there’ll be 25 picks by our critics and other staffers—from must-see TV to must-listen pop to museum shows that will change everything and YouTube supercuts that will change your afternoon. Many picks will direct you to one-night-only readings and reality-TV bar nights, but others will be recommendations for staying in no matter where you are (to watch the French equivalent of The Wire, for instance). In the new “Culture Pages,” we’ll be tracking culture everywhere we can find it; “To Do” is our guide to making your search as rich as ours—and a little easier too.