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 […]
Arts + Policy
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 COVID
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
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
This is the wrong time to cut arts education
IN TIMES of great financial strain and uncertainty, arts education is often the first thing cut from the school curriculum. Indeed, several school districts across the Commonwealth have already laid […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Pandemic devastating to arts and culture sector
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ARTS AND culture sector, a major piece of the Massachusetts economy, will need hundreds of millions of dollars and multiple years to recover from the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Boston granting relief to businesses that pay rent to city
WITH THE PANDEMIC shutdown wreaking havoc on hundreds of businesses across Boston, city officials are stepping up to provide relief to one group of enterprises with a direct tie to […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Italian-American pride means goodbye, Columbus
I’VE BEEN THINKING a lot about Christopher Columbus lately. That wasn’t always the case. Growing up an Italian-American kid, in an Italian-American town in New Jersey, we had summer feasts […]
Posted inOpinion
Juneteenth discussion at Tufts misses elephant in room
TUFTS UNIVERSITY, like many elite private colleges and universities in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and its aftermath of protests and related soul searching about racism in […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The fascist roots of Columbus Day
AS STATUES OF Christopher Columbus are toppled (or beheaded), from St. Paul to Richmond to Boston, Americans are beginning to question the motive for raising certain historical actors to mythical […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Juneteenth observances growing amid racial unrest
WITH PROTESTS AGAINST racial inequities roiling the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday issued an executive order declaring Juneteenth a paid holiday for state employees this year. Juneteenth – June […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Art for everyone’s sake
DYSTOPIAN STORYTELLING IMAGINES time and place without light, color, and life—elements that art, music and performance provide. We’ve had a taste of it during these many weeks at home, and […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Beheading of Columbus statue prompts discussion
SOMEONE BEHEADED the statue of Christopher Columbus in the North End of Boston Tuesday night, prompting a discussion about what the piece of chiseled Tuscan marble symbolizes. Boston Mayor Marty […]
