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...

On September 6th, 2017 a message dropped from a Boston.gov email account announcing  a "Farewell to Mattapan-Dorchester and the Haitian Community."  Buried in the message (in the very last paragraph, in fact), was a a cryptic mention that there would "also be updates regarding Mattapan Square...and the addition of a new tattoo parlor." This struck me as curious, since I already had an entry in my calendar, by then, to attend a hearing of the City's  Zoning Board of Appeals  about a tattoo parlor slated to go into the building next door to where I live. The Zoning Board's hearing notice had arrived in snail mail weeks before.  It confirmed what prior to then, was only rumor.  So I resolved to go and lodge a formal protest; specifically about the lack of public process related the proposed change of "business uses" at  438 River Street  in Mattapan, MA. I listened intently as Ruth Georges, out-going Boston Neighborhood Liaison, assured t...

Mattapan Cultural Arts Development is excited to bring ArtsEmerson 's Play-reading Book Club to Mattapan this fall.  Join us as we read, see, and discuss the play and the production.   In Mala ,  Melinda Lopez  explores through wit and humor being torn between multiple demands on our time and attention, and how bad (mala) we often feel in the process.  It is a story heartfelt to many today, especially if you're a primary care-giver.   Watch her explain here what mala means. Then register to join the Play-reading Book Club.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: G. Sierra Khan              857.333.3513 MCAD brings Street Pianos Boston to Mattapan          Mattapan Cultural Arts Development (MCAD)is bringing the Street Pianos Boston Festival to Mattapan Square this year. The street piano MCAD is hosting was painted by Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire of K. Fine ArtsStudios .  It will be located at the southeast corner of River St. and Blue Hill Avenue (closest to the T Station) thanks to CelebritySeries Boston ’s Street Pianos project.    MCAD--a network of artists and arts organizations invested in making art happen in Mattapan—will program certain hours of poetry, performance and “Play Me, I’m Yours” to call attention to this temporary installation. Track #StreetPianoMattapan between 9.23 and 10.10.2016 for program schedules and updates. Photo credit: Robert Torres/Celebrity Series Boston

by Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire      A lifetime of working with steel drums creates a unique palette for Jeffrey Bernard’s artistic talents and designs.  Whether it’s abstract, realistic or fantasy imagery, Jeffrey creates works of art utilizing the colors and characteristics of steel that evoke awe and wonder.  His unique style blends Folk Art with cultural Haitian traditions.  He sculpts his pieces out of metals using an artistic touch of chiseling, hammering and shaping.      Jeffrey Bernard was born and raised in Croix-des-Bouquets, (northeast of Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince) to a family of metal sculptors. His older brother taught and encouraged Jeffrey to learn metal working at the young age of 8.  He apprenticed with his older brother until he was proficient enough in metalwork and craftsmanship to market and sell his own metal artwork.          Jeffrey creates his artwork using l...

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!

When the Fairmount Indigo Corridor Collaborative brought its community "visioning" process to Mattapan last December, the forum was packed.   The Collaborative's Community Action Group (CAG) gathered residents, urban planners, architects and developers around six work tables in the community room at the Mattapan Branch Library ; replete with maps, markers, clips, and questions to prompt the work ahead. The table-sized maps were drawn from the  City of Boston's Fairmount Indigo Planning Initiative  launched in February 2012  to take advantage of the MBTA's expansion of commuter rail service.  The CAG's facilitators wanted to know what kind of "transit-oriented development" Mattapan residents envisioned along the Blue Hills/Cummings corridor. Biggest surprise was how many people there voiced a desire for a more robust nightlife in Mattapan.  Turns out, there was no need to convince anyone that Mattapan would benefit from having a cultural arts ce...

We're not looking to build a LEED-certified building simply because the City of Boston requires all large-scale developments to meet (if not exceed) the US Green Building standards. We're going green because we want to be part of the solution to the high greenhouse gas emissions typically found in cities like Boston. We appreciate fully the policies Mayor Thomas Menino has put into place to mitigate, and adapt to the effects of climate change; especially the following: Article 37 , Boston's Green Buildings Standard; and Article 80 , Large Project Green Building Review Process. Our internal planning process takes to heart the lessons forwarded via Mayor Menino's Green Building Task Force Report ; with special focus on its " Opportunities for Action " executive summary about the Costs and Benefits of Green Affordable Housing. We're looking to go green, not only for the energy efficiency, but because we see potent opportunities in developing a mix...

Mattapan (Environmental) Action Network's most recent post really captures the mood: Meh! Tuning N2 the Mayoral Race . 'Cause I have been feeling a lil "meh!" about the race; especially as the field ballooned and eventually winnowed. Under the circumstances we'll have to cast our vote based on each candidate's commitment to artists and access to "the ahts"--arts education, arts OST-programming, arts institutions, arts facilities, to arts as a portal to civic engagement.   Tomorrow we'll post our findings here.

Does our want for space simultaneously fill a need for which there is a market demand ? The question is complicated by the fact that Mattapan families clearly want out-of-school time arts programming now ; adding to our pressure for space to work and play.   Of course this is all just anecdotal.  So we're struggling to figure out how we can quantify it.  Thoughts?  Advice?