It can be difficult visiting familiar locations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Well-trodden streets are empty — major avenues, such as Commonwealth Avenue here in Boston, have limited auto traffic to allow more pedestrian and bike access. Local shops and restaurants are running on curb pick-up only, and galleries are just beginning to work out appointment only viewings — all dependent on space and safety. But all over, dotting businesses, apartment windows and sometimes stapled to telephone-poles are handmade hearts. Some are painted on wood. Others made of paper in a style most of us learned in kindergarten. It is a strange, albeit uplifting, sight. The phenomenon is a show of support for essential workers — the nurses, doctors, grocery store staff, MBTA drivers, postal workers, paramedics and others — who have kept daily life running as close to normal as possible during the … [Read more...] about THE HEARTS FOR HEALTHCARE AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS PROJECT

On the night of April 14, around 9:18 p.m., a major water main under Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End neighborhood burst. The damage was extensive: parts of the street collapsed, cars were submerged and an adjacent parking lot began to fill with murky water. Some residents were forced to evacuate and Eversouce cut electricity to the area. SOWA, the neighborhood’s arts and design district, was hit particularly hard. One of the complexes, 460 Harrison Ave, houses a labyrinth of studios and galleries. Many of the galleries are located in the building’s basement, and many of them were flooded, bearing the brunt of the destruction. Fountain Street — an artist’s collective — was almost totally submerged. Marie Craig, Fountain’s director, awoke to a message from the space’s building manager, informing her about the flooding. “I watched the attached video of the flood and felt … [Read more...] about FOUNTAIN STREET, GALATEA GALLERIES KEEP STRONG ONLINE PRESENCE, SLOWLY REBUILD, AFTER SOUTH END FLOODING