COMMUNITY
ARTS RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE
82 PRESCOTT STREET
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS
THROUGH FEBRUARY: SELECTED WORKS OF JESSICA TAWCZYNSKI
FROM HER RECENT ARTIST’S RESIDENCY IN AKUREYRI, ICELAND
by Flavia Cigliano
Founded in 2009, the Arts Research Collaborative (ARC) in Lowell, Massachusetts quickly established itself as a cultural presence in the heart of the city, committed to working with the arts communities of both Lowell and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML).
The concept for a professional workspace and gallery came from three colleagues in the Art and Design Department: Jim Jeffers, Denise Manseau and Stephen Mishol, who explained, “We wanted to create a hybrid space where our students could have more direct interaction with professional artists.” Both Manseau and Mishol were quick to acknowledge the critical role Jim Jeffers played in developing ARC. “It was Jim who found this space, and we would not be here without him. He was really the straw that stirred the drink. I know we are indebted to him to this day and he remains a great friend,” Mishol said.
According to Manseau, establishing the Arts Research Collaborative was first and foremost in response to the need for a professional studio space for the three co-founders. “We started by looking for a place to work, but also with the idea of bringing UMass to the down-town by having small shows and student events,” she said.
“Early on we held a postcard fundraiser downtown — people loved it, it was very successful. The community’s reaction to the postcard show sealed the prospect of establishing ARC in downtown Lowell,” said Manseau. “We continue to help out with fundraising events for the students — whether a postcard show or silent auctions, we find a way to incorporate fundraising events for the students into our programming.”
The founders’ vision was to give the students experiences that could not be accommodated in a classroom setting or within the curriculum of the university. “We try to make a difference, to make a difference to our students and to the city of Lowell,” stated Mishol. “By expanding their lessons down here, giving them a chance to think like professional artists, allowing them to exhibit in a professional space, having them interact with the community and the city, you provide things that really can’t be replicated in the classroom.
“Nothing could be more experiential than making a painting or drawing, and an extension of that is when artists put their work into the world. That was the thinking originally – we could really offer more experiences not only to the students, but to the Lowell community as well. It gives opportunity for discourse that students miss once they leave school. That’s significant. ARC has become a hub as students are able to come here for these shows, meet the artists, see their colleagues, and reconnect with each other. It gives them an opportunity for a continuing, ongoing dialog. It’s all part of a larger process.”
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Art in Unexpected Places: Community Building in Barre and Berlin, Vermont
By Meghan Richter
The lobby of a mall is one of the last places you would expect to see fine art. However, in Berlin, Vermont, an exhibition of “Big Art” at the Berlin Mall challenges you to reimagine your expectations. Now through mid-to-late-October, the mall’s front windows will feature blown-up images of works by Jayne Shoup, David Smith, Steven P. Goodman and 13 other artists. The installation of these pieces was subsidized entirely by Heidenberg Properties Group, the mall’s owners, in order to stir up more attendance.
There is also an opportunity for children and parents to visit the Berlin Mall and make “Little Art.” It’s another way that the local community can be involved as the space converts from an entirely commercial space to becoming more like a town center.
The “Big Art” pieces are visible both from the front of the mall, and from within, as the sun penetrates the colors of the material used, and light filters through as if each piece was made from stained glass. Near J.C. Penney’s, there is a piece by Rosalind Daniels called “Spring Rain.” Originally constructed of pieced cotton fabric with quilting and embellishments, the texture of the piece is particularly stunning. Even through image expanding and doctoring, the threads and quilted pieces are very visible.
Nearby in the granite-working town of Barre, there are more public fabric works. The layout of the town implies a focus on masonry work, and many of the sculptures are historically relevant, such as C. Paul Jennewein’s “Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial.” These sculptures have been knitted and crocheted around in creative ways by the current public arts initiative started by Studio Place Arts (SPA).
This “Soft Bomb Barre” initiative has enlisted local fabrics artists to knit florae into public gardens, crochet covers for locked up bikes and sew a slip cover for the stone armchair in front of the gallery, as well as many other assorted projects. Activists and volunteers in Barre have been working to keep the town’s blue collar heritage alive with the spirit of camaraderie. In addition to this, the second floor of SPA has several looms to be woven by gallery visitors, allowing them to be a part of the action.
Within the gallery of Studio Place Arts, “Visionary Conspiracy,” an exhibition on fiber arts that will be on view through August 27, contains works from 14 well-known regional artists and contains unconventional pieces using threads, textiles, wool, needles and looms.
Classic granite sculptor Giuliano Cecchinelli’s “Rock Solid XVI” continues the narrative of fine art masonry work in Barre from September 20 through November 5. For more information, visit http://www.studioplacearts.com.
Some pieces, including those by Studio Place Arts founder Janet Van Fleet, are hidden in the windows of local businesses in order to contribute to the community effort. Although director Sue Higby said that, “fiber arts are ephemeral in an outdoor space,” and many of the works have suffered some weather damage, the pieces still serve to add a unique touch to the town.
NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT
A POST-MODERN DREAMSCAPE
by Kristin Nord
New Canaan, Connecticut – It is during the fallow months in New Canaan, when the trees are a constellation of trunks and branches, that many of the town’s modernist houses come readily into view. Boasting one of the most significant collections of such homes in the United States, New Canaan now counts 91 structures still standing from the estimated 118 that were built from 1939 through 1979. At the center of this collection are works by “The Harvard Five,” a band of architects whose only similarity, truly, was that they each studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.
Philip Johnson used his New Canaan estate as his personal archi- tectural laboratory. Marcel Breuer and one-time students Eliot Noyes, John Johansen and Landis Gores set up shop for what became an architec- tural industry. Many other like-minded architects and industrial designers came to live and work in this little town, drawn by its minimal zoning requirements, compact downtown and proximity to New York City.
Those who landed fell in love with the Connecticut countryside, full of cliffs and erratics that would serve as sculpture outside huge banks of windows. Many of the houses that have withstood the test of time were enigmatic structures from the roadside, clad in stone or wood and devoid of windows. Walls of glass on opposing sides, however, opened up to vistas from the houses’ public spaces and private areas; center courtyards became sites for kinetic sculpture. Interiors graced with slate floors and handcrafted stone fireplaces, often housing grand pianos, still hint at the “Mad Men” era, and evoke a period when these homes were the personal expressions of the architects who envisioned them, bona fide experi- ments in modern living.
For Alan Goldberg, an architect still residing in the home he designed more than 50 years ago, “mid century modern” wasn’t a style, but rather, “an architecture of ideas and a vehicle for social change. It was a total architecture concerned with social issues, the environment, technology and poetry. It was about clarity, honesty and simplicity, which wasn’t always that simple to achieve.”
Trifero’s exposure to the ideas and the architecture made a convert of him — and led him in a successful fight to preserve a threatened Philip Johnson house. Eventually he garnered a month-long fellowship at The Academy of Rome, where he spent his time studying the connections between Rome’s great buildings and Johnson’s experi- ments. Now, on occasional tours, he happily shares the lessons he’s gleaned with serious students of architecture from as far away as Japan and New Zealand, Europe and California. These visitors often arrive with a background in the Bauhaus and are acquainted with the work of the Harvard Five. “In the exchange of ideas, I learn from them as well,” he said.
With the median price of a home in New Canaan at $1.3 million today, one has to wonder if Trifero is on a quixotic mission; it’s an ongoing tug of war to preserve this part of New Canaan history in the face of current land prices. These residences are very modest by contemporary standards and run counter to decades of conspicuous consumption.
And yet, there are a number of people who appreciate this aspect of the town’s history and who have been working to educate the public on its merit. The New Canaan Historical Society, for instance, has worked diligently with state and National Preservation officials to assemble a comprehensive registry of these works. The Society oversees a biennial day-long symposium and tour; the next one will be in the fall of 2016.
Long-time residents like the Goldbergs can attest to their home’s enduring appeal. Goldberg worked for Noyes for a number of years, purchasing a Johanssen house and taking it down to the frame and doubling the square footage. In 2008, an addition that included a corridor leading to a master bedroom suite was completed, overlooking a majestic rocky outcropping. The home has served the family well, growing organically as it has remained rooted to the ideals of the Bauhaus.
Goldberg notes the modernist architects benefitted from a confluence of like-minded people: clients open to new ideas and willing to pay for them (with open-slab construction and unadorned materials, the cost of building these houses was always higher per square foot than for conventional homes), engineers with skills to execute these projects on challenging land, and a succession of local builders and craftsmen with whom the architects could work closely from beginning to
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Put Me In, Coach
HIGH-FLYING MURALS AT NEW ART CENTER
by James Foritano
Newton, Mass. – January and February are ordinarily months of cabin fever, when walls close in — unless, of course, you’re the kind of athlete who sees sport in snow and ice. For enthusiasts of the “great indoors,” as more and more I count myself, there are always walls begging to be inscribed, emblazoned with intuitions of the heart and soul.
Skeptical? Suffering under the illusion that art is for artists and walls are no place to be leaving the untutored effusions of an amateur?
Relax. You have The New Art Center in Newton’s Holzwasser Gallery — a modest space of about 300 square feet with walls that soar to an 18-foot- high ceiling — and the sanction of a young program that encourages anyone and everyone with a yen to team up with like-minded participants and, under expert but gentle coaching, make your mark in a unique series of interactive mural projects.
A word about the coaches: their experience and styles should bolster your con dence enough so that you, too, could cover a wall with a mural that, though maybe not on a par with Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” will nevertheless be something to chew on for both actors and audience.
Marlon Forrester, January’s mural coach, has been a team player since he rst received a hand-off that allowed him to take ight and tip a spinning basketball into a hoop at a young age. The lessons of competition — winning, losing, giving and asking for help — led Forrester off the court and away from the rituals of basketball and onto the equally tortuous courts of academia.
Given the volatility of our contem- porary art world, Forrester needed every bit of his athletic ability and team smarts to stay on his path to discern the “real hoop” from a questionable one, and to judge in a split second which player’s fidelity had suddenly switched from friend to foe, from teammate to prankster.
Forrester still says “Yes!” to the rituals and rounds of basketball, but now, as both player and coach, it’s “Yes, and …” You’ll walk onto the “court” of The New Art Center’s Holzwasser Gallery, choose your materials — in this case different widths and hues of self-sticking, non-runny black tape — then, in loose- fitting athletic garb, proceed to your station and do the warm-up exercises fit for your position.
Finally, observing carefully the various boundary lines of an artfully drawn down-sized basketball court, you’ll begin to make your mark in close proximity to, but never rudely crossing over, the paths that other players choose. Liberty and constraint, freedom and discipline will guide your movements in this most private, most public dance of self with others.
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Unifier: Connecticut’s Own “Burning Man”
By Kaveh Mojtabai
Lebanon, CT – Music. Dancing. Art. Poetry. Gardening. Healing circles. Fire pits. Sound sanctuary. Sweat Lodges. Tea houses. Kids spaces. Yoga. Solar panels. Camping. Nature. Community. Humanity. This all happens at The Unifier Festival. What’s more, it’s all happening in New England.
Unifier, an annual “Transformational Healing and Expressive Arts Festival,” made its debut on June 5 to span across four full days through a spacious 380-acre campground at Camp Laurel in Lebanon, Connecticut. This transformative festival is not the only one of its kind. This passionate movement is sweeping across the country: Burning Man in Colorado, Gratifly in North Carolina, Beloved in Oregon to name only a few.
Transformative festivals like Unifier, however, are different from purely profit-venturing entertaining music concerts. Everyone participating, whether it be musicians, artists, organizers, patrons and their families, stays at the campground for one to four days to live and to interact with everyone else.
The casual attendee, like yours truly, upon invitation, may amble in to enjoy a song, view a painting, take a dip in the lake or enjoy a spa and rub down massage at the sauna. An unexpected surprise is the opportunity to listen to international, thoughtful DJs and singers, talk with painters and sculptors on creative collaborations, eat vegetarian food and sip tea with new friends, stay up all night singing around a fire pit, wake up to monkey chants at the break of dawn, spin in a mystic, whirling, dervish workshop and have a near-death experience in a Native American sweat lodge.
The atmosphere blends responsible, conscious-minded people exploring their humanity, healing and transforming from a chaotic, individualistic deteriorating society, working together creatively to understand their consciousness. Far from a utopia, each person plays a part to be acknowledging our realities, compassionately paying attention to each other and to themselves.
Just ask Jason Cohen, Unifier director, who puts this approach in practice. When having been asked about the spirit behind the festival in an interview with artscope, he explained that “a significant portion of proceeds from Unifier will be put in a Land Trust for a retreat center and potential eco-village, to be owned in perpetuity, governed by council, and in service to the community.”
It’s no wonder a weekend spent at a natural, environmental retreat surrounded by the spirit of kindness and friendship is making waves across the country and throughout most parts of the continent. In order to understand that we are all unified, we must first understand our conscious processes to be the same in every human being. Unifier helps this happen.
For more photos from this year’s Unifier Festival, check out artscope’s instagram: oninstagram.com/profile/artscopemagazine
Keep an eye out for next year’s dates at unifierfestival.com.
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CORNERED: MONICA HINOJOS OF 3RIVERS ARTS
By Brian Goslow
Ayer, MA- Built on the nearly four decade legacy of the former Groton Center for the Arts, 3Rivers Arts, a Ayer-Mass. based non-profit regional arts organization, has the stated mission of “engaging the humanities for artful living in central Massachusetts by connecting artists with audiences in a variety of creative forms and expressions” through quality arts education and events. Artscope’s managing editor Brian Goslow cornered executive director Monica Hinojos to see how things are progressing at 3Rivers Arts and find out about its summer offerings.
WHAT ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN ON YOUR PLATE TODAY?
A medley of activities is always on my plate each day. Today, everything from The Nines festival sponsorship meetings, board member discussions, a team meeting, working on The Nines creative brief and other 3Rivers Arts projects and events. Of course, answering questions for an influential arts magazine.
HOW HAS THE FIRST YEAR FOR 3RIVERS ARTS GONE AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION FROM THE COMMUNITY?
I think we’ve come out of the gate with a bang. We broadened our reach to 12 communities and have plans to reach more. Last year, we offered a variety of art events, such as the Artist’s Masquerade Ball, the Art+Music Project (AMP!), and launched the Artists Collaborative. The Artists Collaborative was very important to me. We have such talented artists in our region that should be seen and heard. They deserve a spotlight. I also wanted our collaborative to be inclusive of all mediums. Musicians, writers, dancers and other creators are invited to join.
We’ve tried to build something here that hasn’t been done in our region before. I would say overall the reception has been extremely positive, so I know we’re doing something right. We’ve shifted gears as an organization, which creates its own set of opportunities and challenges, but overall it has been a very positive experience, learning an improving as we go. There is a Japanese concept, “kaizen,” which means constant improvement. That’s what we’re doing.
WHAT WENT INTO THE DECISION TO “REBRAND” THE GROTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS ORGANIZATION?
Simple. It was for the artists. The GCA was only serving a couple of youth programs when I took the helm. I wanted to use my experience of working on economic development and arts projects and find a way to showcase the artistic talent we have in the region, while having that same creative community spur economic development. In addition, there are many towns in our region that didn’t have a similar arts organization to the GCA. I wanted to create a way to bring art and cultural activities to more communities, whether a big footprint or small.
GETTING AN ORGANIZATION OFF THE GROUND IS ENOUGH OF A CHALLENGE; WHAT GOES INTO RAISING THE MONEY AND FINDING GRANTS TO PUT A LONG-TERM PLAN INTO PLACE AND ENDURE?
That has been our biggest challenge. If I were to use an analogy, last year was about laying the foundation and building the frame. I am lucky to have a board that contributed in significant ways providing their expertise to accomplish that. While a small group, they had my back every step of the way. Honestly, grants have been difficult. In a building year, there’s no record of success at doing many of the programs and projects we launched. It’s understandable. We’re building our board of directors, which readers should consider joining. We’re a fun group. We’ve also created strong new partnerships that will support our long-term organizational plans.
WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS DO YOU HAVE THAT MAKE YOUR ORGANIZATION A WORTHY INVESTMENT FOR SPONSORS AND CONTRIBUTORS?
We have several events that attract different demographics and have far reaching impact for connecting to audiences that would be appealing for sponsors in our region. They range from small art shows that support local artists to The Nines, which will attract thousands from far and wide to the area. Why they should consider us a worthy investment is because we’re creating programs and events with an emphasis on the arts to improve the quality of life for everyone, not just the art lover — but also for the local businesses that will reap the benefits of the creative economy.
I’m blessed to have an amazing staff of professionals who are deeply committed to our mission, who have backgrounds in music, publicity, theatre, and running other art organizations and their own galleries in the past. That brain trust has put us in the position we are today. In many ways my team churns work out like a creative agency, and we can shape our promotions to tailor fit a sponsor’s needs from social media, print, event signage and more. So their dollars aren’t only buying a logo on a sign or website, they’re getting a creative campaign out of their sponsorships. It’s a win-win. It’s incredibly fun to work with so many creative people in the office, and then I have the joy of being an advocate for extraordinary artists throughout the region. I’m surrounded by creativity. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
I’M SURE A LOT OF AREA KIDS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ARTWORKS SUMMER CAMP, WHICH OPENED JUNE 24 AND IS HELD AT THE GROTON SCHOOL …
Absolutely. Our camp is very popular with the campers who attend. They get a dose of little bit of everything while at camp whether for only a two-week session or for the full six weeks. They can choose from art, dance, theatre or music for their “majors”, but have the option of attending a Lego camp and writer’s workshop where they’ll write and design their own hardcover book for those little architects, authors and publishers in the making.
Plus, there’s plenty of recreation time for them to run around during extreme soccer to swimming twice a day. They love it, and the parents love it because the kids are happy and can’t wait for the next day. It’s a family. They look forward to camp each and many have stuck with it since they were four years old and go through the Counselor-in-Training program because they want to become camp counselors at the camp one day. They simply never want to leave. We owe all of that goodwill to our fabulous Camp Directors and their staff. They adore every camper and make a real connection with each one, which provides that additional sense of security and peace of mind for the parents. We’ve started calling it the “best six weeks of summer!”
A STATED GOAL FOR 3RIVERS ARTS IS TO PROMOTE ARTISTS AND THE CREATIVE ARTS THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS REGION. HOW HAVE YOU SET OUT TO ACHIEVE THIS AND WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR INITIAL SUCCESSES?
From the onset, I launched the Artists Collaborative and as a collective I got their ideas of what could support them the most as artists. We started with creative economy mixers bringing businesses and artists together to connect over a glass of wine to learn more about how the arts could be integrated in the local economy. We hosted national award-winning artists and poets, launched new events for our artists to sell their work or perform, and held our first Artist’s Masquerade Ball to showcase our artists. We’ll follow any lead if we believe it will help our artist collaborators.
We’ve established a strong partnership with New Habitat Partners in West Acton Village that will provide us a platform in Acton in 2014 for our artists work to be seen by a new audience. We’re reaching out to towns and cities in our region, and then gauging their needs to determine how we can meet those needs through the arts. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
TELL ME ABOUT THE “FLOW: THE WORK OF 3RIVERS ARTISTS” EXHIBITION AT THE CENTER ON THE COMMON IN HARVARD IN JULY …
This is one example of doing something in one of the towns in our community to showcase our arts collaborative members. It’s our first group art show for them. Not only will we have art on exhibit for the month of July, but also the opening reception will showcase two of our musicians in the collaborative. Neither has performed together, but both are excited to jam and experiment. Plus, some of crafters will table their artwork for sale. It’s also an example of my desire to partner with the regional cultural institutions to work collectively to raise the awareness of all the art offerings in the region.
The Center on the Common launched under its new identity late last year, but they’ve been working within Harvard to promote it as an cultural community space about the same amount of time as 3Rivers’ launch. They have a young, dynamic Program Director, who is a talented artist in her own right, trying to bring artwork from outside the Harvard community to the Center. This enabled us both to accomplish a goal. I hope that this becomes an annual event for us in the town of Harvard.
HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO PLACE ANYONE INTO A WORKSPACE OR STOREFRONT THROUGH YOUR “VACANT2VIBRANT” CREATIVE ECONOMY INITIATIVE YET? (IF NOT, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PLANS FOR THE “VACANT2VIBRANT” CREATIVE ECONOMY INITIATIVE …
Unfortunately, this is one of the plans that got sidelined when we started planning The Nines. While extremely talented, my team is small and all part-time at the moment, so we just didn’t have the staff or financial resources to launch it this year. We’re launching a different program similar in nature, but with more emphasis on getting our artist’s work on wall space throughout the region. We’re calling it “Occupy Wall Space”. A few businesses have already signed up, and we’ll do more over the summer and will continue to grow in every town. Honestly, it’s a matter of financial resources. We aren’t short of creative ideas, but need the funds or partners to help make them a reality. When we are ready to move ahead with it, we will have developed more connections and trust within the business community, and we’ll be able to launch it in the way it deserves.
YOU’VE GOT THE NINES MULTI-ARTS SUMMER FESTIVAL AT WILLARD FIELD IN DEVENS ON AUGUST 10. TELL ME WHAT’LL BE TAKING PLACE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EVENT IN HELPING GET THE WORD OUT ON 3RIVERS.
Upon taking the reins at 3Rivers Arts, I had a vision of bringing a multi-arts festival to Central Massachusetts similar to the one I’m most familiar with from living in Austin, which is SXSW. I knew Devens would be the perfect location given its focus on economic development. I see the creative community as an engine for economic growth in the region.
I knew there was a potential local partner in Great Northeast Productions. My good fortune was that they were available, shared in the festival vision, and had the experience to bring this enormous vision to life. We want to create a collaborative artistic experience unlike anything that’s been seen in Central Mass before — one that fosters a highly imaginative and incredible coalescence of artists working with the strange and the astonishing. Kinetic art, art that toys with the perception of light and sound, and pieces that symbolize the “The Nines”.
We’re referring to it as a music + art + discovery festival. The discovery part comes from what people will discover there — bands they haven’t heard before, artists they’ve never seen before, and another cool thing is that it will have an eco-aesthetic. Our creative producers, FireSeed Arts, are environmental artists that transform discarded and unwanted waste and scrap materials into beautiful works of art, furniture and musical instruments.
Our mission for The Nines is to bring attention to the breadth of artistic talent in our region, bring top-tier bands to our area and build on this year after year. We want to introduce audiences to Central Massachusetts as a hub of artistic talent, and hopefully, a regular summer tour stop for their favorite bands.
Our vision is for a happy side effect of The Nines to be a cultural and economic boost for the area as well. In turn, 3Rivers Arts’ profile is raised and our other educational and artistic programming will benefit from The Nines.
WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR FOR 3RIVERS ARTS?
Our summer camp starts June 24, and then we have The Nines on August 10. We finish up the summer programming in Acton with AMP! on September 8, and we’re launching Preamp the night before to provide that last summer art fling. We end the year with our Artists’ Masquerade Ball in November, which will be bigger and better than our inaugural ball last year. We have big plans next year for more exciting projects. Stay tuned…