IT HAS BEEN more than a year since Temple Beth Zion, a nondenominational Jewish synagogue in Brookline, closed its physical doors. The synagogue started holding daily prayer services for the first […]
Arts and Culture
Posted inArts and Culture
Public art can help drive our post-pandemic renewal
A YEAR INTO the global pandemic and the once-familiar roar of people, cars, and activity in Boston is still a memory. The feeling of life in suspension persists. Yet, glimmers […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Film tax credit backers say they have the votes
SUPPORTERS OF THE state’s film tax credit, which came under fire this week from a commission examining Massachusetts tax breaks, say they have the votes to pass legislation that would […]
Posted inArts and Culture
13 views on how the pandemic will shape the future
IT WAS A YEAR AGO this week that it became clear how completely our world would be turned upside down. After mounting global concern about a deadly new respiratory illness […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Meet Michael Bobbitt, state’s new arts leader
THE LIFE STORY of Michael Bobbitt is probably very similar to what he would like to replicate for residents statewide as he takes over as the executive director of the […]
Posted inOpinion
There are many Amanda Gormans out there
RIGHT NOW, poetry has our attention. On January 20, Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in US history, performed her breathtaking poem The Hill We Climb in front of 40 […]
Posted inArts and Culture
As BSO, Boch Center struggle, fundraising takes off
TWO OF BOSTON’S leading cultural institutions had their best fundraising years ever last year as patrons rushed to help fill a void created by COVID-19. “We’ve raised more money now […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The intersection of race, COVID-19, and the artsÂ
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has had a disproportionate impact on the black community, at the same time as a national reckoning on race relations called attention to societal ills stemming from […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Now is the time to change the name of Faneuil HallÂ
THERE COMES A time when a city speaks as one and acts as one. The planes originating from Boston on 9/11 brought sorrow and pain to our city and the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Shining our light in trying times
OUR SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS teach us that even in the most trying of times, an eternal light shines through and guides us towards building a more just and compassionate society. Thanks […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Mass. Cultural Council picks new leader
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR of a Watertown theater will in February become the next director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, after a unanimous vote Friday by the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Poll signals new approach at Museum of Science
THE BOSTON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, known primarily as an interesting place to visit, took a step out into the community on Tuesday, releasing a poll surveying the attitudes of Massachusetts […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Elite artists face challenges on green cards
EVEN ELITE ARTISTS are having difficulty getting green cards for permanent residency in the United States. The federal government is on pace to issue 32 percent fewer green cards this […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The dysfunctional geography of ancient borders in a modern pandemic
LOOKING AT AN aerial photograph or walking down a side street, you’d be hard-pressed to find the border between Waltham’s South Side neighborhood and West Newton. The residential areas on both […]
Posted inArts and Culture
How we’re staying afloat at the New England Aquarium
THIS YEAR’S rapid-fire turn of events is stunning. Minute to minute, day by day, we face a new reality. It’s no different leading one of Boston’s most popular and beloved cultural […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Historic homes struggle to reopen in COVID-compliant way
THE YEAR 2020 was shaping up to be a banner year for the Orchard House in Concord, the home where Louisa May Alcott lived and wrote the classic book Little […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Castle Rock’s impact called significant
A STUDY BILLED as the first of its kind indicates the initial season of Hulu’s Castle Rock television series received a projected $14.6 million in film tax credits from the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Museums refocus and reinvent to survive COVIDÂ
JANE PARKER LIVES in Harvard, and over the years, she has visited the neighboring Fruitlands Museum for big events, like February’s Winterfest.  In early October, Parker returned to Fruitlands to hike for the […]
Posted inOpinion
Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day
THE UNITED STATES is grappling with the legacy of slavery, systemic racism, and oppression. This requires us, as responsible citizens, to reflect on our own lives, and question our long-held […]
Posted inOpinion
The era of Christopher Columbus is over
WHEN I WAS A KID growing up on the second floor of an East Boston triple decker, Columbus Day was a pretty big deal. Alternating with the North End, the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Baker not calling a halt to Halloween
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he won’t try to stop Halloween from happening, saying it is much safer for people to engage in outdoor trick-or-treating than it is […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Fitchburg pinning revival hopes on arts and culture
FITCHBURG MAYOR Stephen DiNatale’s office bears all the markings of the workspace of a small-city Massachusetts leader working hard to pull up his community, a place that has struggled for […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Cambridge arts groups seek city COVID relief funds
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, Improv Boston averaged about 2,000 patrons a week who watched its comedy shows and participated in acting classes at its Central Square location. Now, almost six months […]
Posted inThe Download
Will the shows go on in Pittsfield?
THE OLD ADAGE that the show must go on is facing a real test out in the Berkshires. The story begins in mid-March, when the coronavirus shut down the stage […]
