Around Town

Artists Wanted to Create Pollinator Pathway Signs

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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.

Around Town

Call for Artists & Writers to Participate in Watertown’s Edible Plants 2023 Project

By |

The artwork from Edible Plants 2022, Clockwise from top left: Daylily by Patti Murphy, Bee Balm by Niloufar Keyhani, Elderberry by Marija Draskic Brancazio, Wintergreen by Kate Martens, Mayapple by Carol Leonesio, Mountain Mint by Cat Bennett, Huckleberry by Donna Calleja, Red Bud by Debajyoti Biswas, Bearberry by Connie Henry, and Garlic Chives by Jaclyn Kain. The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:

Edible Plants 2023 is the second iteration of the “Edible Plants” project. In the pilot cycle, 10 visual artists were selected to each create a 2-dimensional artwork based on an edible plant found in Watertown. The finished artworks were then on display at four locations around Watertown before being auctioned off. The artists had their work reproduced in a coloring book that was made freely available throughout Watertown, led workshops, and participated in a moderated panel discussion.

Around Town

Armenian Museum Will Preserve Rare Manuscripts With BofA Grant

By |

Rare manuscripts at teh Armenian Museum of America in Watertown will be preserved with funds provided by a Bank of America grant. Pictured here: Kerry Miles, Art and Heritage Project Manager at Bank of America; Maryann Ekberg, Managing Director, Baernk of America Private Bank; Jason Sohigian, Executive Director, The Armenian Museum of America; and Michele M. Kolligian, President, The Armenian Museum of America. (Photo courtesy of Bank of America). The following announcement was provided by Bank of America:

As part of its Art Conservation Project, Bank of America provided a grant to the Armenian Museum of America of Watertown, Mass., to restore 21 illuminated manuscripts from its collection, one of which dates back to the 13th century, the museum announced this week. Bank of America selected the Armenian Museum of America as one of the 23 cultural institutions that have been named recipients of the 2023 Bank of America Art Conservation Project, a program that provides grants to nonprofit cultural institutions to conserve important works of art. 

This year’s recipients represent a diverse range of artistic styles, media, and cultural traditions across China, Colombia, France, Lebanon, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.

The Armenian Museum of America has the largest collection of Armenian artifacts in the United States.

Entertainment

Armenian Museum’s New Exhibition Explores Issues of Dislocation & Cultural Identity

By |

“Beirut Memory Project #56” (Digital Collage, 2018- 2021), Ara Oshagan features an individual looking out from among the bookshelves of a library that opens entirely onto a war-ravaged boulevard in Beirut. The following announcement was provided by the Armenian Museum of America

Using a variety of mediums from photography to film to collage, Ara Oshagan weaves geographies and spaces that consider the impact of borders on our personal collective history and the disruption of dislocation. Ara is a photographer and installation artist based in Los Angeles who has exhibited worldwide. Curated by Ryann Casey. The Armenian Museum of America (AMofA) recently announced the opening of its next contemporary art exhibition, “Ara Oshagan: Disrupted, Borders.” The show follows the AMofA’s blockbuster exhibit, “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection,” which received rave reviews and was viewed by thousands of visitors. “Disrupted, Borders” at AMofA is an expanded version of what was previously exhibited at Stockton University Art Gallery in New Jersey, and the show is being curated by Ryann Casey.

Around Town

Four Artists Speak About the Pieces Featured in the First Exhibition on the Watertown Community Sculpture Walk

By |

Anaïs MarkwoodArtist James Payne speaks about his sculpture “Opposition” during the grand opening of the Community Sculpture Walk. As of May 18th, Watertown is home to four new sculptures! The new Community Sculpture Walk in Watertown Square had its grand opening, unveiling a series of four sculptures located along the Community Path that runs behind Saltonstall Park. The sculptures, each created by New England-based artists, are located incrementally along the path, stretching from the edge of the parking lot behind the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) down the path towards Waverley Avenue, with the farthest sculpture sitting by the section of the path near Chulo Restaurant and Bar. The sculpture walk was organized and put together by the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee (WPACC) and spearheaded by Liz Helfer, Watertown’s Public Arts & Culture Planner.