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Artscope Magazine | September/October 2023

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Community

PUTTING DOWN ROOTS: GROWING NUMBER OF ARTISTS TURNING TO THE BERKSHIRES

// Community, September/October 2022

by Marjorie Kaye

There is something, in addition to the mountain air, the beautiful surroundings and the vibrancy of the Berkshires, that attracts artists of all types like moths to a flame. Between the lush and well established areas like Lenox and Williamstown, and the gritty petri-dish of energy like North Adams, the settings for artistic evolution are boundless. Add in the great institutions like The Clark, Mass MoCA and countless others, and the area becomes more and more a destination for artists to put down rootsandcontributetoanever-growingvesselofcreativity. Upon arriving, one will discover a vast network of like- minded artists sharing a common goal: living, breathing and ingesting art. Artists are magnetized to one another in the Berkshires, and a supportive creative community continues to grow. There are those who are more established in the area, having been here for many years, providing … [Read more...] about PUTTING DOWN ROOTS: GROWING NUMBER OF ARTISTS TURNING TO THE BERKSHIRES

SOWA DISTRICT REBOUNDS: OPEN STUDIOS SHOWCASE 450 HARRISON ARTISTS

// Artscope Issues, Community, September/October 2022

by Claudia Fiks

Artists’ studios evolved and changed over time but have always maintained a magnetism that sparks visitors’ curiosity. How is SoWA, Boston’s busiest Art + Design District, and how are artists dealing with the post-pandemic season? Can SoWA ́s Artists Open Studios serve as a continuing model for community revitalization through the arts? The art of revitalizing or the art revitalizing? On my recent visit to Ireland, I was eager to see Francis Bacon’s preserved studio, which has been at Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery since 1998. It is a large project undertaken by a team of archeologists, conservators and curators who carefully recreated every detail, including the dust accumulated since the artist’s death in 1992. The lines of visitors to see the studio through narrow transparent doors are huge. Throughout history, there has been a fascination with seeing the intimacy of artists’ studios … [Read more...] about SOWA DISTRICT REBOUNDS: OPEN STUDIOS SHOWCASE 450 HARRISON ARTISTS

GREETINGS FROM QUINCY!: THE ARTS HELP BRING RESIDENTS BACK DOWNTOWN

// Artscope Issues, Community, September/October 2022

by Brian Goslow

Since its inception in March 2006, Artscope Magazine has been based on Hancock Street in Quincy, Massachusetts, AKA, “The City of Presidents.” Earlier this year, we relocated to the fourth floor of South Shore Health Building alongside QUBIC Labs at 1495 Hancock, after the closing of Solomon’s Collection & Fine Rugs, our longtime home base, a half-mile away. When I last visited the area, pre-COVID, much of the area in front of Quincy City Hall was boarded off for redevelopment of the area. Now, it holds a welcoming and beautiful city park, the Hancock Adams Common, hosting statues of John Adams and John Hancock, and the entrance to picturesque Hancock Cemetery, bordered by United First Parish Church and Old City Hall. Thomas P. Koch has been Quincy’s mayor since 2008. “When I first took office, it wasn’t a pleasant experience walking downtown,” he said. “We had to create a new … [Read more...] about GREETINGS FROM QUINCY!: THE ARTS HELP BRING RESIDENTS BACK DOWNTOWN

A BOLD EXAMPLE: BELLFORGE ARTS CENTER AIMS TO BE A NATIONAL MODEL

// Community, July/August 2022

by Claudia Fiks

The Bellforge Arts Center, a legacy of the past, a vision of the present, an omen for the future: “If You Build It, They Will Come.” The Cultural Alliance of Medfield (CAM) embarked on a challenging and exciting journey, using the arts as the main vehicle for this ambitious project. The results will change the landscapes of the entire Medfield community, the MetroWest Area, and beyond. Furthermore, it will serve as a national model for community building and economic prosperity efforts. Studies show that when real estate developers and art leaders ally, understanding the principles of community engagement and revitalization through the arts, there is usually a happy ending. When artists are included with urban planners, city councils and policymakers, and have a place at the table from the start of any community improvement project, it is an excellent recipe for success. This is … [Read more...] about A BOLD EXAMPLE: BELLFORGE ARTS CENTER AIMS TO BE A NATIONAL MODEL

A TIME & PLACE FOR CELEBRATION: PAO ARTS CENTER’S ANNIVERSARY HONORS AAPI COMMUNITY

// Artscope Issues, Community, May/June 2022

by James Foritano with Brian Goslow

The dancers were like lit matches. We, on the other hand were five years late, and yet, on April 21, we are taken in like family at the Pao Arts Center, now celebrating its fifth anniversary, for its presentation of Lenora Lee Dance’s “Convergent Waves: Boston,” an immersive, multi-media dance performance to celebrate the contributions of local activists and non-profit leaders in Boston’s Chinatown community. The Pao Arts Center’s philosophy is that we are all late- comers to this favored continent of North America, and we’re all dancers thinking that wherever our own feet hit the ground is ours to keep. And we’re so right. And so wrong! Since the present pandemic has claimed this world as its very own, my fellow adventurer, Madeleine, and I have barely ridden the Red Line, so we jumped at the chance when we were invited to “Convergent Wave’s” world premiere. We traveled by T … [Read more...] about A TIME & PLACE FOR CELEBRATION: PAO ARTS CENTER’S ANNIVERSARY HONORS AAPI COMMUNITY

INSPIRATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT: DOVER’S ART CENTER BUILDS VIBRANT ARTS COMMUNITY

// Artscope Issues, Community, May/June 2022

by Eric J. Taubert

Located at a deep bend of the Cocheco River in the beating heart of burgeoning Dover, New Hampshire, is where you’ll find the historic Washington Street Mills complex. Over the past few years, something special has happened within this former textile mill, as the Seacoast Region city it calls home — the oldest permanent settlement in New Hampshire — has transformed into one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. This circa-1880s mill complex has sprung to new life through the efforts of a vigorous and varied blend of talented entrepreneurs. At the core of it all is a thriving artists’ colony anchored by a multifunctional creation, exhibition and performance space named The Art Center which is well-served by the boundless and infectious energy of its passionate owner, Rebecca Proctor. In the damp gray of early-April, as the New England spring struggled to find its … [Read more...] about INSPIRATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT: DOVER’S ART CENTER BUILDS VIBRANT ARTS COMMUNITY