Migrating from WordPress to Substack for Art & Culture

tl;dr subscribe to the free substack that Shawn-Laree O'Neil and I publish:-)

I am a WordPress lover. Over the last 19 years (moving my devotion away from Radio Userland, Movable Type and TypePad), I have built more than 100 websites on the open source blogging platform that now powers ~40% of the entire World Wide Web.?

My WordPress love has been the source of derision from my more technical colleagues who understand the code bloat and security risks while serving as a source of wonder for friends? and clients for whom I’ve created custom websites they dig & can update on their own.

Starting last year, when I was re-launching the Arte Agora website in concert with the launch of our Spots, Forms & Methods book, I downloaded the JetPack app to allow us to post images more easily from mobile. The app crashed often. On desktop, WordPress started struggling mightily with the simple task of managing hi-res images in bulk.?

The minor annoyances loomed larger when we decided we wanted to launch a newsletter about art & culture. Learning the WordPress newsletter functions-- and building inside its limitations-- seemed dumb, especially given the existence of Substack. I’ve been a subscriber of newsletters there since 2018, and it was always smooth. (Obligatory side note about recent WordPress drama).

So I imported dozens of relevant posts from a number of disparate WordPress sites (super easy). Starting early last month Shawn-Laree O'Neil and I have been posting a newsletter every Tuesday under the moniker, “SLDXO Art & Culture: Fresh takes on art & culture inspired by our pursuit of Arte Agora wherever we go.”?

We like the easy publishing system, the built-in community, the detailed stats, and the discipline it takes to call it a “newsletter” instead of just a website. We cover museum exhibitions, architecture, food, photography, ephemera, collecting, and of course Arte Agora. Upcoming posts will take a look at 2024 election posters and the re-use of the Noel State Bank Building.

Subscribe and we’ll see you there!

Recent entries:

Sharaku at The Art Institute Chicago: Jacoulet was swayed: a review of 200-year-old Japanese prints and how they relate to current culture.?

Travel Trunks Forever: Vintage luggage decals offer a glimpse of international travel in the 20th Century: personal essay from Shawn-Laree O'Neil with details on hundreds of vintage objects.

Seeing Paul D'Amato's Midway: Chicago's Cultural Center is the best museum you never go to.: Basic rumination about how great the Cultural Center is, with a focus on its current show.

County Fair and Fair Use: Creative Commons photography at one of our remaining common areas: Upshot: use my photos plz.

Keith Haring & “Everyone” at the Walker: Curators and critics don't understand the role of the public in street art: Essay on how far off-target museums are in understanding art placed outside.

Michael Richards and 9/11: The prophetic, thoughtful artist on a collision course with history: timely take on an artist who understood things before others did.?

1952 was long before European tourism reached a breaking point: The SITA Odyssey Tour of Judy Dinnell from Washington, DC: deep dive into an object found in an antique shop in upstate NY.