THIS YEAR marks a profound milestone in how Massachusetts became a national symbol of ingenuity and creativity, leading the way in preparing new generations to take on the challenges and […]
Arts and creativity
Posted inOpinion
Supporting BIPOC artists helps grow communities
Second in a series of commentaries on arts in community ARTISTS, AND THE cultural expression they create, are essential to the future of Massachusetts cities and towns. Communities must do […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston’s corporate sector needs to step up on arts
WHEN I WAS a working musician, few metrics mattered more to me than my orchestra’s concert attendance. A full house has a flywheel effect where the energy between the performers and audience […]
Posted inArts and Culture
High school junior wows Lawrence crowd
ALLISON CASTILLO, a junior at Methuen High School, got the call on New Year’s Eve. The singer that Lawrence City Clerk Diane LeBlanc had lined up to sing “God Bless […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Long-awaited arts funding finally arriving
MASSACHUSETTS ARTS appear to be big beneficiaries of $16 billion in federal relief aid that is finally starting to be released after a delayed start and an arduous review process. […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Rebuilding the arts sector without a vow of poverty
LIKE MANY CREATIVES, Vanessa Calixto works in the arts to fill her heart and in another field to fill her bank account. It’s a tradeoff she accepts to do the […]
Posted inThe Download
Mass Reboot: The arts sector
The Boch Center and the Dorchester Art Project are arts organizations from very different worlds, but both were hit hard by COVID and are now struggling to find their way […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Mass Reboot: The arts sector
THE BOCH CENTER and the Dorchester Art Project are arts organizations from very different worlds, but both were hit hard by COVID and are now struggling to find their way […]
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
The art of family reunification
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the Massachusetts Cultural Council – two agencies that would appear to have little in common – have launched a pilot program with the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Creative economy losing some steam
1BERKSHIRE, Berkshire County’s leading economic development organization, released a strategic report last month called The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 that, on the surface, seems to provide helpful action steps for supporting […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. needs to step up for tourism and the arts
MASSACHUSETTS’ DYNAMIC tourism industry and its arts and cultural assets are inextricably linked, collectively delivering extraordinary dividends to the state’s economic vitality and quality of life. Residents and visitors alike […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The healing power of art
THE YOUNG GIRL had endured bullying and been called ugly. She was told she had a unibrow by one of her male classmates. At her therapist’s office, she was “withdrawn […]
Posted inOpinion
Public art stirs controversy in North Adams
PUBLIC ART HAS BEEN KNOWN to create controversy. Usually, the aesthetics or thematic content of the artwork is what generates backlash. Diego Rivera in Detroit, Richard Serra in New York […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Shaw 54th: A disruptive work of art
AT A TIME when Civil War monuments across the country are coming under fire, the National Park Service, the city of Boston, and the Friends of the Public Garden are […]
Posted inThe Download
Who should have final say on public art displays?
Julia Dixon, the chair of the Public Arts Commission in North Adams, resigned this week after the City Council once again failed to come to any agreement on whether the mayor or […]