April 9, 2024
Who are you and what is your business?
Cape Ann COSMOS digital publishing platform is a newsletter, website, E-magazine, and social media omnibus covering the culture scene across Greater Cape Ann. Launched in 2019, our combined readers, subscribers, followers, and web traffic now connect with 15,000 – 25,000 cultural enthusiasts. Approximately 50% reside in Greater Cape Ann (we include Salem and Beverly), 40% in the other towns of the North Shore, and 10% across Metro Boston, New York, Florida, Connecticut, and beyond.
The COSMOS enterprise is made possible by a team of six culture mavens, all with edgy and serious credentials in the fields of art, science, entertainment, and journalism. We also work with a growing roster of freelance writers, photographers, and artists.
Cape Ann COSMOS operates out of an office on the fourth floor of the Blackburn Building, 2 Main Street, Gloucester. The business is incorporated as Munkholm Media LLC, doing business as Cape Ann COSMOS, and owned by Chris Munkholm.
Please provide a brief description of your company.
Cape Ann COSMOS digital publishing platform is dedicated to keeping readers informed on cultural events and community – to enhance and inspire their participation in the lifestyle. Our coverage has expanded from central Cape Ann to the outer boundaries of Newburyport, Marblehead, Lynn, and Andover. Or shall we say: “North of Boston.” The curatorial focus is disciplined to these categories: Art Exhibitions, Art & Discourse in the Community, Performance Art, Music, Film, History, Literature, Science, and Revels. We keep COSMOS readers In the Know…and on the Go.
COSMOS Publications
Cape Ann COSMOS: Arts, Science & Entertainment Events List
On alternate Wednesdays, subscribers receive a long digital newsletter packed with info on the best of the cultural events happening in the next 2-4 weeks at these organizations: Peabody Essex Museum, Cape Ann Museum, Hammond Castle Museum, Addison Gallery of American Art, The Cabot, Manship Artists, Marblehead Arts Association, Rockport Music, Rocky Neck Cultural Center, Rockport Art Association, Gloucester Stage, Gloucester Writers Center, Windhover Performing Arts Center, and many galleries and smaller cultural venues.
Our readers are drawn from a wide demographic of museum directors & board members, new & celebrated artists, many musicians & writers, and legions of fans, audiences, and gallery goers. When we meet subscribers out and about, they frequently thank us for letting them know about an amazing event which they might have missed. The newsletter is FREE to subscribe: www.capeanncosmos.com/subscribe. Past issues are archived: Cosmos Newsletter Archives | Cape Ann Cosmos
COSMOS Folio of Feature Articles
In 2021 we began publishing exclusive feature articles on a broad range of cultural topics, written, and illustrated by local authors. Feature articles cover the same cultural categories as the Cape Ann COSMOS newsletter: Cosmos Folio – Art Feature Stories | Cape Ann Cosmos, Cosmos Folio – Science Feature Stories | Cape Ann Cosmos, and Cosmos Folio – Literature Feature Stories | Cape Ann Cosmos
The COSMOS platform offers one of the few publishing options for local authors, photographers, artists, and designers. Our aspiration is to financially compensate content creators. Independent freelancers have been devalued in the modern world of “free” content on social media.
We also publish articles by our subscribers, reporting on their exotic cultural experiences in other parts of the world, such as Valparaiso Chile, Isle of Sardinia, South Africa, and Iceland.
Gloucester 400+ COSMOS Culture Folio
In 2023, as our contribution to the Gloucester 400+ celebration, we produced a major project covering Gloucester’s cultural heritage, dating from the earliest time to the present. The opening article in the Gloucester 400+ COSMOS Culture Folio, Wonasquam Village and the Skywatchers, was contributed by Mary Ellen Lepionka and is an archeological study of the Indigenous population’s possible astronomy activities at Pole’s Hill in Annisquam. Additional authors in the folio include James Masciarelli, Erik Ronnberg, Stephanie Buck, Caleb McMurphy, Peter Anastas, Bing McGilvray, Rebecca Reynolds, Paul Cary Goldberg, and others.
What inspired you to start your business and what keeps you going? (stories, inspirations, skills, etc.)
In the summer of 2019, I could not find a centralized source of information on the cultural happenings around Cape Ann. One day I was walking along Main Street Gloucester and saw a poster for an appealing classical music concert. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the concert happened – the prior week! At that point I decided to self-educate as part of my decision to remain living on Cape Ann rather than returning to Boston. I wondered if there were enough cultural activities to warrant a monthly list, as a fun project. Once that question was surprisingly well resolved, I went to work writing the inaugural issue of Cape Ann COSMOS, published December 1, 2019. The very first COSMOS cultural listing was for the Winslow Homer exhibition, “Homer at the Beach,” showing at Cape Ann Museum. It was an excellent start for the now historic issue of COSMOS, sent to 50 friends and family members.
Three months later, the pandemic canceled every event in the March 2020 issue of Cape Ann COSMOS. My only business plan was a one-year commitment to not stop publishing – no matter what happened, a pledge that turned out to include a worldwide pandemic. What followed was a combination of grit, ingenuity, and large chunks of time to dig deeply into the cultural heritage. I kept publishing by covering outdoor “events” such as the Ipswich History Walk, the Street Art in Lynn, the Great Marshes, and virtual events such as violin players on Italian roofs, and so on. Surprisingly, new subscribers were steadily signing up, with an apparent curiosity about this new COSMOS publication – which seemed to be finding a niche.2 Main St, Gloucester, MA 01930
What aspect of your business are you most passionate about? (history, conversation pieces, etc.)
Reporting on the output of the cultural world is reporting on an endless array of fascinating, unexpected, quirky, surprising, and always original content. Along with the amazing and inventive people who create the cultural world. We are enthusiastic about sharing this information and special lifestyle with our COSMOS followers. We know we are connecting when we receive a comment such as this recent one from a longtime reader “Cosmos has changed my life – it is so enriching.”
Is there something unique about your business that you’d like to share that most people wouldn’t know about?
We are unique as an unaffiliated, private publishing platform, unfunded by any special interests or cultural genres. This status guarantees our freedom to report on what is happening in the cultural world, rather than on a particular preference. Every issue of COSMOS is an eclectic mix, from contemporary to classical, Freddy Mercury to Frederich Chopin. We adhere to the historical tradition of independent journalism for unfettered and uninfluenced reporting.
What sets your business apart from other similar businesses? (defining qualities, practices or approaches)
We take pride in the production quality of our Cape Ann COSMOS newsletter. The work requires reducing lengthy press releases and web site promotions into carefully written event blurbs, of around 100 words. The choice of visuals is also fussed over, with our design director Meredith Anderson creating a visual treat for the readers.
We are also committed to providing a platform to publish the original work of writers, photographers, artists, illustrators – and with compensation. Many freelance content creators have been left out of the social media replacement for traditional media.
Do you have a goal you want your business to achieve in the next one, 5 or 10 years?
We are soon launching a paid subscription program for COSMOS Members, offering different membership tiers and benefits and new digital opportunities for reaching COSMOS readers. In five years, we hope our readership includes 30% of the 500,000 culturally active people who live within driving distance of the North Shore’s remarkable cultural scene. In ten years, the COSMOS Clubhouse will be open on the harbor! With galleries, streamed content rooms, juice, coffee, and wine bars. And a dance floor with ceiling that retracts for dancing under the stars! Investors welcome.
Why do you love the Greater Cape Ann region and doing business locally?
The accessibility and scale of the cultural venues in this region are more engaging and community focused than those in large cities. The content is often relevant to the region and enriches the experience of living here. Also, one frequently crosses paths with members of the cultural community, making friendships easy to form. Plus, the incredible beauty of the North Shore landscape and seascapes are often integrated with cultural activities, enhancing the experience of living in this special region of the world.
As someone doing business in this area, how has or how can the Chamber help your business?
We would welcome help from the Chamber for our sustainability strategy, now based on revenues from advertising, sponsorships, donations, and the new paid subscription program. Chamber members are most welcome to advertise or sponsor, with recognition in exchange!
Contact Info
2 Main St, Gloucester, MA 01930
(978) 828-7448
www.capeanncosmos.com
