The city of Fitchburg has finally cut the ribbon on a nearly 13-year affordable housing project for artists. The post-industrial era city that suffered from the long-term decline of manufacturing has embraced arts and culture as a way to restore its standing as a vibrant hub of North-Central Massachusetts.
Arts and Culture
Posted inArts and Culture, Opinion
1812 Overture should be dropped from July 4 playlist
PROTESTING THE BARBARIC Ukraine invasion by banning Russian music from orchestral concerts is shortsighted, but replacing the 1812 Overture on July 4th programs is long overdue. Tchaikovsky was born in Russia, […]
Posted inOpinion
A creative imagining of the Emancipation Group statue
IN THE SUMMER of 2021, I wrote an opinion piece for CommonWealth with suggestions on what to do with the city’s Emancipation Group statue, the one showing Abraham Lincoln with […]
Posted inOpinion
How arts enrich the state’s civic life
LOCAL ARTS PROVIDE a wellspring for community – energizing residents and enriching civic life. Our regions benefit from the remarkable ways that arts and cultural expression help people engage, connect, […]
Posted inThe Download
GBH host O’Donovan faces bleak prognosis with ‘poetry and prayers’
It was a moment when memories were made, beautifully, poignantly, publicly. Brian O’Donovan, celebrating the 20thyear of his annual live show “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn,” stood onstage at Boston’s Cutler […]
Posted inArts and Culture
GBH host O’Donovan faces bleak prognosis with ‘poetry and prayers’
IT WAS A MOMENT when memories were made, beautifully, poignantly, publicly. Brian O’Donovan, celebrating the 20thyear of his annual live show “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn,” stood onstage at Boston’s Cutler […]
Posted inArts and Culture, Opinion
Remembering the genius, kindness of David McCullough
LIKE THE HISTORIC figures that he brought to life – John Adams and Harry Truman to name two – it is hard to wrap our heads around the fact that […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Finding synergy between artists, innovators, developers
IF YOU THINK of some of the world’s greatest and most productive cities through history – Florence, Paris, Hong Kong, New York, and of course, Boston – there is an […]
Posted inOpinion
Using art to address social issues
First in a series of commentaries on arts in community LeLand Gantt’s performance of Rhapsody in Black was an entry point for people in an overwhelmingly White region to talk […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Encore says 999 seats available for fight night
ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR says only 999 tickets are being sold to a mixed martial arts event being held next week in its grand ballroom, which would mean the fight night […]
Posted inArts and Culture
New Samuel Slater Experience spotlights ‘father of American manufacturing’
AS SAMUEL SLATER traveled from England to the United States in 1789, he voiced his ambitions to revolutionize the US textile industry with knowledge he had gained in England. Yet […]
Posted inThe Download
New Bedford arts groups making connections
The New Bedford Historical Society, whose focus is the history of people of color in the South Coast city, appears poised for a takeoff. The society is developing a park […]
Posted inArts and Culture
New Bedford arts groups making connections
THE NEW BEDFORD Historical Society, whose focus is the history of people of color in the South Coast city, appears poised for a takeoff. The society is developing a park […]
Posted inOpinion
Wanted: A home for Boston history
BOSTON IS A CITY rich in history – but one that sometimes does a poor job collecting and sharing all of it with everyone who might be interested in it. […]
Posted inArts and Culture
DCR ghosts artist group in Hull
A FEW YEARS AGO, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation put an early 1900s dilapidated, long-vacant building it owns across from Nantasket Beach in Hull out to bid for […]
Posted inOpinion
Making room for everyone in the audience
A MUTUAL COLLEAGUE of ours recently recounted for us a personal story of how a situation she would have normally loved – a classical music concert with some of her […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Michael Rodrigues takes up cause of restoring Azorean Jewish heritage
PICTURES OF THE old synagogue show a decrepit building with peeling paint, broken furniture, and rotting wood. Prayer books were ripped. There were water leaks, vermin, and structural damage. It […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Earmark process in ARPA bill undermines racial equity goals
THE RECENTLY PASSED $4 billion state spending bill appears generous to the arts and culture sector, particularly groups with ties to communities of color. It includes $135 million to help […]
Posted inOpinion
Thanksgiving is what we make of it
THANKSGIVING WAS ALWAYS a mixed bag for me. The holiday of my youth was decidedly about large family gatherings accompanied by large amounts of food. The kitchen table (we had […]
Posted inArts and Culture
It’s time to end gun violence – on movie sets
A 16-YEAR-OLD BOY shivers. It’s cold, dimly lit, and windy outside an old, abandoned city warehouse. He should have worn more than his thin hooded sweatshirt. He pulls the hood […]
Posted inOpinion
We can’t afford to take arts sector for granted
JOCKEYING FOR HOW to disburse the more than $5 billion in federal funds coming to Massachusetts via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has been underway for months. From health […]
Posted inArts and Culture
A new way to commission public art
MOST MASSACHUSETTS communities use the same process to commission public art as they do to pave a sidewalk or hire a streetsweeper. They put out a call for contractors, review […]
Posted inOpinion
Boch Center getting back on its feet
MASSACHUSETTS’ CULTURAL economy stands among the industries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent lifting of coronavirus safety restrictions means arts, entertainment, and cultural institutions can finally begin the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Senate proposal pares back film tax credit
THE SENATE BUDGET committee is proposing major changes to the film tax credit, setting the stage for a major clash with the House over the lucrative incentives the state offers […]