Art Throb is a multimedia online magazine, dedicated to chronicling the arts and culture of Boston’s North Shore.  And throb is exactly what it does — only a month old, the website already pulses with myriad articles and images related to film, visual art, dance, music…  The key to its vibrancy lies in the fact that Art Throb’s focus expands the definition of art, well beyond that which you’ll find on museum and gallery walls.

“Our focus is the importance of art in our everyday lives,” explains Art Throb’s editor-in-chief and founder Dinah Cardin. “Art is in the cracks and crevasses of the sidewalk, in a way of looking at life, and the in people around us. Art is community.”

Dinah has an arts writing background and community news reporting; Art Throb is a natural blend of the two.  “In addition to highlighting visual arts, music, literature, film, etc.,” she says, “we also look at the Art of Dating with a male and female columnist, the Art of Travel, the Art of Food and, soon, the Art of Sail, as we take a trip on the Friendship, the replica of a 171-foot three-masted Salem East Indiaman built in 1797, that docks across the street from my house.

Art Throb’s content seems to be a balance of things seen and happening on Massachusetts’ North Shore (Salem and environs) and also in the wider world (New York, Paris…).  Who is your primary target audience?

Because our contributors work in second-hand stores, law firms, colleges and museums, our demographic is twenty-somethings to older adults who appreciate art, beauty and curiosity in their every day lives. They’re people from the North Shore who sometimes work in Boston and who definitely take advantage of what New England (and the rest of the world) has to offer in terms of culture and the arts. We keep our target audience in mind: in the same day, we posted dispatches from our travel writer’s trip to Paris, our music writer’s trek through Tanzania, and from a beekeeper thespian from Beverly Farms turned baseball team executive assistant in New York City.

Dinah Cardin, Art Throb founder and editor-in-chief (R) and Joshua Luke, assistant editor.

Describe the arts scene on the North Shore.  What’s special about it?

The North Shore is full of creative, and sometimes frustrated, people  searching for an outlet. It is a magnet for artists from all over the world. In Gloucester, you have unique light and a history of fishing. In Salem, we have a creepy, dark past because of the witch trials of 1692 and the subsequent symbols remain everywhere. Up and down the North Shore, there are people creating magnificent things. Your waitress is a sculptor. Your coffee shop regular is penning a novel. It’s a constantly inspiring place. And we hear over and over that we’re filling a niche.

What has been your greatest success to date?

Having an idea for an online arts magazine and executing it within 45 days -– that includes making decisions about content, design and our general direction and mission. Then we convened a board of advisors, found contributors and photographers, edited stories, and hit the “Publish” button.

What’s the biggest challenge in putting together an online publication?

During the first few weeks, it was getting our technical glitches worked out. Functionality is important! Second, it has been persuading those who don’t read online publications to check us out!

I love your tagline: “Art is where you find it.”  Can you describe an instance when you “found art” rather unexpectedly?

When my assistant and I were first working on this project, we stumbled upon a single phrase written out in the open. On the ground on the wharf across from my house, written in stones, was the phrase, “We Outgrow Love like Other Things.”

Then, one of our contributors found headless plastic animals stuck in snow banks outside his house all winter long. The same person does a photo series of 2’s on our website. He loves finding unexpected displays of this number.

How do you use your Fractured Atlas membership?

With our fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas, we will be able to manage our donations. Our membership also gives us increased visibility and credibility.

Please finish this sentence: “A world without art is…”

A world without art is painfully bland and uninspiring. It’s working in a cubicle in a windowless office, surrounded by the most witless people. With economic collapse and global confusion, more people are seeking art as an escape…and for renewed meaning.

What’s next on your professional horizon?  What visions do you see for Art Throb in the future?

Now that we’ve officially launched, we have all sorts of tricks up our sleeve for multimedia installations. We not only write about art, we want to showcase art. We also aspire to become a must-read for artists and art lovers, and finally, to be financially afloat.

Visit Art Throb at www.nsartthrob.com.