With family-friendly attractions, and a purple sand beach, the beautiful coastal town of Newburyport, one of America’s oldest cities just 35 miles north of Boston, claims a historical charm. While most visitors might be attracted to its maritime components, seafood restaurants, and outdoor attractions, Newburyport is also home to a forward-thinking organization, the PEG Center for Art and Activism. Once a land of the Pawtucket tribe in 1630, Newburyport was destroyed by the fire of 1811, affected by the 1812 War, housed some of the wealthiest Americans, and as a port city, welcomed goods from all over the world. Today, through the PEG Center for Art & Activism, Newburyport is a role model for creating and welcoming initiatives to change the status quo and to promote awareness for advancing social justice, human rights and environmental causes that affect us all. With an extensive … [Read more...] about SHOULD WE AGREE TO DISAGREE?
Reviews
SO, WHAT IS A KAREN?
The first time I heard the pejorative term “Karen” was when my brother described the segregation of my mother’s graduation party from Family Nurse Practitioner school. Other than my mother, there was a white section and a Black section, and they didn’t intermingle. My brother pointed at a woman with an asymmetrical bob and chunky blonde highlights. That’s her: a Karen. That was 2018. Since then, I’ve encountered Karens that come in all forms with more affective behavior. In Roche Bros., a Karen followed me around the store and complained that she was unable to see me because I was bundled up (like every other customer), another Karen went into a tizzy full of white tears and excluded me from class emails after I told her that saying the n-word in an art history class was highly inappropriate, the list goes on. Nationally, Karens are taking over, as evident in social media: causing … [Read more...] about SO, WHAT IS A KAREN?
AN ELEMENT OF SURPRISE
“Fire and Ink,” featuring Hollis Engley’s pottery and Alice Nicholson Galick’s prints, will merge with Printmakers Network of Southern New England’s 30th anniversary at the Cahoon Museum of American Art in what curator Annie Dean called an exhibition of a “wide variety of intellectual and skilled artists and techniques.” With the prompt of “Pearls,” which is the title of the anniversary show, 20 artists will show a portfolio of 7” by 7” prints, whose individual styles should lead viewers to find other larger work alongside, including an 84” tall pochoir (stencil) piece by Amanda Lebel. There are samples of process and materials: copper plates, stencil and an interactive touch screen educating the public on how prints are made. Jo Yarrington will do a unique window installation using film, a first for the museum. Perhaps the common thread of all these exciting artworks is depth. … [Read more...] about AN ELEMENT OF SURPRISE
A LIFETIME COMMITMENT
Beverly, Massachusetts’s Montserrat College of Art begins the new year with a selection of shows that celebrate its newest and oldest talents and make space for inner and external explorations of form, color, trauma and politics. The range of the college’s teachings are spotlighted throughout its four galleries of exhibitions featuring the psychedelic works of Isaiah Hope, a recent graduate of the college, to samples of the timeless works of Reno “Ray” Pisano, Montserrat’s last living founding faculty member who will celebrate his 100th birthday this February. These two shows are on view now through January 28 and February 25, respectively, while two additional exhibits spotlighting artists Robert Moeller and Allison Maria Rodriguez are set to open on January 23. Ray Pisano’s elegant works exude the kind of long- time devotion to craft that Pisano himself embodies. As he approaches … [Read more...] about A LIFETIME COMMITMENT
A CONTEMPORARY FOCUS
The materials messaging in “Social Fabric: Textiles and Contemporary Issues,” on view through June 11 in the Cushing and Morris Galleries at the Newport Art Museum, is certainly of the moment and contextualized by the inclusion of excerpts from the National Aids Quilt and work from Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party,” her 1970s landmark installation that remains just as significant today as an activist’s expression of contemporary art. Many of the artists included in this show have used the soft hominess of quilt-making to address society’s ills. In chief curator Francine Weiss’ and co-curator Megan Horn’s carefully chosen artist list for this exhibition, they’ve built an interesting and insightful conversation about gender, sexual bias, equality, racism and incarceration. Recently, after visiting the show on two occasions, Artscope Magazine’s Suzanne Volmer exchanged questions about … [Read more...] about A CONTEMPORARY FOCUS
A REFLECTION OF THE TIMES
The much-anticipated Members’ Exhibition, on view at Attleboro Arts Museum through January 27, is an annual event that provides an opportunity for members of all ages and artistic backgrounds to exhibit up to three artworks with guaranteed inclusion. Always an interesting percolation of ideas and trends, the current iteration of the survey includes 411 artworks by 201 artists. 2023 happens to be Attleboro Arts Museum’s 100th Anniversary and the Members’ Exhibition is certainly a signature event to begin an auspicious year. Zachary M. White, executive director of Gallery X in New Bedford, Massachusetts, was the awards juror for the show. His choices followed the museum’s template of Best Abstract ($100), Best Representational ($100), six Juror’s Awards ($50 each), four Blick Materials Awards ($50 value each) and 12 Merit Awards (certificates). Reinforcing these honors, in her remarks … [Read more...] about A REFLECTION OF THE TIMES