Move4ART

      In early November, a group of six finalists were chosen to develop public art proposals for  the Dudley Square Municipal Center .    Since then, the artists have been hard at work on their proposals, and they will be presenting their conceptual designs to the selection committee on  January 20th and 21st  from  6-8pm   in the Community Room at Central Boston Elder Services.        Each short-listed artist will have twenty minutes to present their concepts for the Wall Design Project or the Outdoor Sculpture Project. The chosen artists will develop their designs for installation at the Dudley Municipal Center in November 2014.    Presentations are free and open to the public The Wall Design finalists are  Best Dressed Signs ,  Cyrille Conan , and  Napoleon Jones-Henderson .  The Outdoor Sculpture finalists are  Christopher Puzio ,  Madeline Weiner , and...

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...

The ICA/Boston 's Barbara Lee Foundation Theater  filled quickly for the "Cultural Planning Learning Session" after lunch on Novembe 18th.  After giving props to MassCreative 's Create the Vote campaign, the BCA 's Veronique LeMelle set the stage for the afternoon's presenters:   Julie Burros, Director of Cultural Planning for the City of Chicago , spoke from a practical perspective about Chicago's Cultural Plan and the need to develop a strategic plan that can carry cultural policies forward through multiple city administrations; and Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, Senior Advisor to the Arts and Culture Program at the Kresge Foundation and an Obama appointee to the National Council on the Arts (NEA), who spoke from the perspective of one grounded in research. Dr. Jackson's overview of her key findings (summarized below) are drawn from her reflections on how urban planning research about arts and culture has progressed in recent years. (Hi...

Even if you missed it, you can thank The Barr Foundation for sponsoring "A Day of Learning and Networking for the Greater Boston Arts & Culture Community" at   ICA Boston  on 18 November 2013.        The day began with an illuminating presentation by TDC 's Susan Nelson--" Beyond Breakeven:  Why Capitalization Matters ."  Review it and you'll immediately see why the word "illuminating" is not hyperbole.        Key takeaway for us?  The "misalignment" between the measures on which arts organizations all too often rely, and the kind of ongoing market research that keeps capitalization matters in mind.        This fundamental disconnect then leads to a series of double binds for arts organizations: break-even analyses tend to focus on the success of funded projects as opposed to annual operating budgets;  arts organizations, not wanting to appear weak--i.e., "unfundable," effectivel...

Photo credit: G. Sierra Khan              Wheelock Family Theatre showcased the first cohort of young playwrights to participate in its Emerging Playwrights Program  (EPP) last Friday night at the Mattahunt Community Center .          A large, first-floor activity room was converted into a makeshift, flexible theatre space.  And there, with the Boston mural as a backdrop, actors staged readings of the young playwrights' works.      In rapid-fire fashion, the evening's program cycled through five ten-minute plays:  Eden Beleke's Paradise  took a comedic look at cell phone addiction and the tensions it engenders; Jacarrea Garraway's Our Son  finds parents' new possibilities dashed once their son drops out of college and returns home; Alex Drumm, Jr.'s Worst Case Scenario  traps father- and son-in-law to be in an elevator where they hash out their differences, whil...

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...