Around Town

Our History: Artist Henry Webster Rice, Whose Works Hang in Museums Across the Nation

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Henry Rice 1919 painting of houses on Pleasant St. (Photo courtesy of Joyce Kelly)

The following story is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Historical Society of Watertown board member Bob Bloomberg. Bob is also on the board of the Watertown Historic District Commission. He is a genealogist (his contact information is on our website) and has written several book reviews and newspaper articles.

Entertainment

New Rep Announces Casts & Design Team for “Raisin in the Sun” & “Diaspora!”

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The cast of New Rep’s “Raisin in the Sun” includes Damon Singletary (right) as Walter Lee Younger, and Jon Vellante as Karl Lindner. (Courtesy of New Rep)

Following its highly acclaimed, sold-out, three-week run of The Normal Heart, New Repertory Theatre (New Rep) is excited to announce the now complete casts and design team for its upcoming productions of A Raisin in the Sun and Diaspora! The shows will run in repertory, with A Raisin in the Sun beginning its three-week run Sept. 5 through Oct. 1, 2023, and DIASPORA! running from Sept. 12 through Oct.

Entertainment

See Which Bands Will Play at the Watertown Arts Market

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The third annual Watertown Arts Market is just two weeks away, and there will be many vendors, businesses, and musical acts throughout the day. The Arts Market will be held on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 12-5 p.m. at Filippello Park (Grove Street entrance). It is free to attend and vendors will be selling art, food, drinks, and other items.

Music at the 2023 Watertown Arts Market

12 p.m.: Boston Jazz Voices

1 p.m.: Willow Flute Ensemble

2 p.m.: School of Rock

3 p.m.: 90 Mile Portage

4 p.m.: Lucretia’s Daggers

About the Watertown Arts Market

The Watertown Arts Market is a family-friendly outdoor event with a diverse selection of artists, authors, creatives, musicians, performers, arts and cultural organizations, and businesses. Each artist and organization will host a table or perform at the event.

Entertainment

Exhibit Featuring Artworks of Saroyan Artworks Opens at Armenian Museum

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This watercolor by William Saroyan was donated to the Armenian
Museum of America by Joan Agajanian Quinn; it was drawn on the back of a menu from “The
Ararat” restaurant in New York City on February 21, 1969. (Courtesy of Armenian Museum of America)

The following announcement was written by Elias Trout and provided by the Armenian Museum of America:

Following the donation of Ruben Amirian’s “Homage to Mesrop Mashtots,” a 14-foot composite work celebrating the Armenian alphabet, art collector and Museum Trustee Joan Agajanian Quinn has gifted two watercolors by literary genius William Saroyan and two drawings from his son Aram Saroyan to the Armenian Museum of America. All five works are now on display in the new exhibit “My Name Is Saroyan,” inspired by Armenian literary culture both past and present. “After the success of our 2022 exhibition ‘On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection’ at the Armenian Museum, the Quinn family is happy to broaden the Museum’s collection of contemporary artists with these donations,” explains Quinn. “We continue to be impressed with the way the Museum displays Armenian art which spans the time frame from ancient to modern times.

Around Town

Artists Wanted to Create Pollinator Pathway Signs

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Arts & Culture Committee:

In an expansion of the program recently launched by the Watertown Friends of Bees and the Watertown Community Gardens in partnership with Watertown’s Department of Public Works, the Public Arts & Culture Committee is collaborating with the Watertown Community Gardens and Watertown School Gardens using art to enhance learning in gardens throughout the city. Artists are asked to develop imagery for two signs that will accompany the school gardens. Each sign may have a different artist, or the selection committee may select the same artist to complete both signs. Selected imagery will be digitized and printed on aluminum for outdoor display. The imagery may also be used at the Watertown Community Gardens, the Department of Public Works, and at a series of educational talks offered at the Watertown Free Public Library.The selected artist(s) will have their name included on each sign.

Entertainment

Watertown Cultural Council Seeks New Members

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Cultural Council:

Are you interested in enriching the lives of Watertown residents?  Do you have an interest in the arts, humanities or sciences? 

The Watertown Cultural Council is seeking new members who would like to serve on the Council and help us select and promote new projects in the future. All Watertown residents are eligible to apply, and we especially encourage people with experience in grants evaluation, social media, public relations, finance and program development to contact us. If you would like to speak with a member of the Council about your possible participation, please email our WCC Chair, Lois Pond at lzpond@gmail.com or watertowncultural@gmail.com and we will get back in touch with you to answer your questions. We particularly encourage community members from underserved populations to apply. For more information, please see our website: watertownculturalcouncil.org

The Watertown Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, interpretive sciences, and humanities every year.

Entertainment

Art Exhibit at Library Feature Work of Syrian Painter, Reception Planned

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The following information was provided by the Refugee Support Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace:

Honoring UN World Refugee Day, the Refugee Support Group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment presents “The Art of Refuge,” a narrative installation of the work of Syrian painter Samera Birawi, who took refuge in Turkey after the bombing of her homeland began. Installed in the T. Ross Gallery of the Watertown Free Public library, The Art of Refuge brings a voice and images that strongly tell a story of life and death, and hope. The paintings, often created from actual photographs of the depicted events, weave a first-hand narrative of a country descending into violence, highlighting its impact on children. Yet, the artist wants to keep alive the memory of earlier peace in her town of Idlib, near Aleppo, in a geographical area of ancestral culture that designed the first alphabets 12,000 years ago, and produced the finest olive oil:

“We will remain there as long as the olive trees remain.”

Exhibit Reception: Thursday, June 22, 5:30-8 p.m., including live Zoom from Turkey with the artist at 6:30 p.m., 1st floor, Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown Savings Bank Room. Refreshments will be served

The exhibition will run from June 1-3o, 2023

Three women, born in the Middle East, the United States and Europe, teamed up to convey the art of Samera Birawi: Youla Hana, member of the Refugee Support Group; Sue-Ellen Tcherepnin, President of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the environment/Refugee Support Group Founder; and Christine Arveil, Curator of the exhibition.

Entertainment

Watertown Artists Painting Statues to be in Jimmy Fund’s CowParade New England

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Bill Belicow by Dawn Evans Scaltreto will be on display in Kenmore Square near Ace Tickets. (Photo courtesy of CowParade New England)

The following information was provided by the Jimmy Fund:

Local residents and artists, Carol Leonesio and Dawn Evans Scaltreto, have painted and transformed life-size cow sculptures as part of CowParade New England presented by Herb Chambers, a one-of-a-kind public art installation and fundraiser designed to recognize the Jimmy Fund 75th anniversary, benefiting Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s lifesaving mission. The cows, Miss Moosachusetts, Bill Belicow, A Wicked Good Bruins Game, A Great Day at Fenway, The Eliot and Space Penguins, are on display from June 24 through September 4. CowParade will be located throughout Greater Boston, including herds sponsored by presenting sponsor Herb Chambers, Coca-Cola, fairlife, HomeGoods, OOFOS, Bond Brothers, Bonhams Skinner and Jordan’s Furniture, the Boston Common Pasture Sponsor. A full pasture map will be available this spring at CowParadeNewEngland.org/PastureMap.