Arts + Policy

Public art stirs controversy in North Adams

It’s not about paint or policy; it’s about engagement

By Julia Dixon Arts and creativity 0 Comments Feb 10, 2019

PUBLIC ART HAS BEEN KNOWN to create controversy. Usually, the aesthetics or thematic content of the artwork is what generates backlash. Diego Rivera in Detroit, Richard Serra in New York City, Jeff Koons in Paris, and lesser-known artists in lesser-known cities have faced criticism from community members over artworks that are deemed offensive or inappropriate.(...)

Shaw 54th: A disruptive work of art

Even so, the famous memorial causes some uneasiness

By Bruce Mohl Arts and creativity 0 Comments Jan 17, 2019

AT A TIME when Civil War monuments across the country are coming under fire, the National Park Service, the city of Boston, and the Friends of the Public Garden are preparing to spend $2.8 million fixing up the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial on Boston Common. The memorial, facing Beacon Street across from(...)

Who should have final say on public art displays?

By Bruce Mohl Arts and creativity 0 Comments Dec 14, 2018

Julia Dixon, the chair of the Public Arts Commission in North Adams, resigned this week after the City Council once again failed to come to any agreement on whether the mayor or the commission should have the final sign off on public art displays. “Decisions about public art need to be made by those who understand it,(...)

Summer 2018

Keeping Somerville cool

For Greg Jenkins, the arts encompass just about everything, even Marshmallow Fluff

By Bruce Mohl Gregory Jenkins, Somerville, Somerville Arts Council 0 Comments Jul 10, 2018

PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN SOMERVILLE MAYOR JOSEPH CURTATONE likes to be bold. “I always tell Greg, bring me something no one else has done and that’s really off the wall,” he says. Greg, in this case, is Gregory Jenkins, the executive director of the Somerville Arts Council. Jenkins generally does what his boss tells him(...)

Summer 2017

The promise of MASS MoCA

The museum’s latest expansion is a hit, but its impact on the struggling town of North Adams remains a work in progress

By Linda Enerson Arts and Culture, Economic development, MASS MoCA, Municipal Government, Western Massachusetts 4 Comments Jul 11, 2017

Photographs by Michael Manning TWO YOUNG MEN from Brooklyn tentatively inch down the hallway, holding onto a handrail because it’s so dark. They turn a corner and the room in front of them opens up, filled with intense light of different colors. They make their way to a bench and sit down, mesmerized by a large(...)