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Showing posts with the label ArtsMattapan

Inside Out, Outside In: Boston’s Mayoral Candidates Talk Arts & Culture

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...

Why Doesn't Mattapan Arts Matter?

The City of Boston is quite aware that there is a network of artists and arts organizations invested in "making art happen in Mattapan." Mattapan Cultural Arts Development (MCAD) has been back and forth with the Boston Arts Commission over a public art installation announced by Mayor Menino in September 2009.   In addition, MCAD has met with  Julie Burros , the City's Chief of Arts & Culture, participated in BostonCreates, and is otherwise known to the City's arts establishment.  So it's startling that we're just finding out about Mayor Walsh's Fair Housing Arts Contest .  This is particularly stunning given the current challenges the Mattapan community's facing around the issue of "fair" (as in, "affordable") housing. Yikes!