Move4ART

Thanks to  MassCreative , Mattapan creatives have a basis for comparing the two mayoral candidates before we pull a lever next Tuesday.   And while the Mattapan Arts Council (M.A.C.) has decided  not  to endorse a candidate this time around, a side-by-side comparison of the candidates’ responses to  MassCreative’s questionnaire  is worth considering. One way to compare the two is between ‘head’ versus ‘heart:’  one candidate speaks from his personal connection to the arts; the other reveals only what he thinks about the arts.  Put differently, one approaches the questions posed from the “inside out;” the other, from “outside in.” Of course  the challenger  is promoting change, while  the incumbent  is defending the status quo.  And it is on the hinge between the two that the M.A.C. found itself deadlocked. The challenger acknowledges the need for change, at least.  His responses suggest he’d  do some...

     Two years ago the Mattapan Arts Council articulated a scathing critique of the Boston Public Health Commission 's current "Our Mattapan" campaign .  Ironically, its Violence Intervention & Prevention   (branded for 'cool points' as "VIP")  initiative developed a "public awareness campaign" about Mattapan that only reifies the view of Mattapan as a violent, dangerous place to be.      It's a campaign message that contra/dicts the day-to-day experience of those who live, work, or play in Mattapan.   It also caused Mattapan-based artists  to think more broadly about how our Mattapan is often (mis)represented, despite even the best intentions. Now comes a new RFP that  just might be our best chance to do something about it.        So the Mattapan Arts Council  is more than happy to share information about the VIP's new search for artists to work with its youth design team to develop its next...

An interesting thing happened on the way back from NYC:  a phone call alerting me about an info session the following day. Despite the late notice, here's  what I learned: Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DNSI) has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) on behalf of "a broad range of community-based partners" to commission a public art installation in the Upham's Corner neighborhood. Although the "call" has gone out "for artists," facilitators of the info session stressed that the artist label is broadly defined to privilege: "local, cultural markets;"  "elevat[ing] the richness" that resides at the local level. Any and all "creative practitioners" are welcome to apply; especially those who have demonstrated leadership engaging communities in "participatory processes." Answering a few key questions in a three- to five-minute video is all that's required to start the application pro...