Author: Courtney

  • Reporting Germany’s Floods

    Torrential rains on July 15 led to rivers bursting their banks the following days, destroying towns around the region. Places to where my friends’ parents have retired are completely wiped out, villages we’ve hiked through no longer exist, horse farms we’ve ridden at devastated, a highway we drive to get to field hockey games and…

  • Art Cologne Moves Online

    Art Cologne Moves Online

    With Covid-19 closures putting the kibosh on an in-person Art Cologne, I spoke to gallerists around Germany to find out how they’re coping with the slowdown in the art market for Artsy. Originally delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in April, Art Cologne has once again had to postpone its physical edition. Instead of meeting…

  • Fashion is Political

    I read that Spiegel column a lot of German women are excited about and want to address its initial premise: the critique that reporting on Kamala Harris’s appearance and fashion choices is more prominent or visible than criticism about her “agenda.” That simply isn’t true. The first thing to consider, whether you’re reporting out a…

  • Notes on the US election

    The German institute for political education, Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung asked me to provide commentary on the US election on Tuesday night, something which I was both happy to do and overwhelmed by. How do you explain an entire culture and a volatile political situation in less than 20 minutes? Here’s a few notes from…

  • Art Fakes

    Art Fakes

    Like many of you, I haven’t been in a museum since the pandemic closed them all in March. A few weeks ago, though, I returned to one of my favorite places in Cologne, Museum Ludwig, to explore their new exhibition: Russian Avant-Garde at the Museum Ludwig: Original and Fake. Questions, Research, Explanations. I looked at…

  • Reading Books Makes You Smarter

    Reading Books Makes You Smarter

    Did you know that reading printed books can change your brain? Even after just a few days of reading on paper instead of on a screen, there are recognizable neurological shifts that take place. The importance of books and reading hasn’t changed, even as publishing increasingly goes digital. That’s what I learned recently while attending…

  • Freelancer Burnout

    As someone who lives in Europe but writes exclusively in English, I cherish the networks I’m able to build online. One of the smartest moves I’ve made in the last year was to join the StudyHallXYZ community of freelance writers and media professionals. It’s full of many wise and supportive people who are leading discussions…

  • Amazing Women: Arlene Gottfried

    “For me, it was natural to go out of the house, to be out. So when I got a camera, I went out with my camera. When I shoot, it’s mostly something about the way a person is, or who they are, what they’re doing, it could be anything that’s attractive to me. Why people?…