Around Town

City Seeks Artists to Create Mural about Armenian Artist from Watertown

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The City of Watertown provided the following announcement:

The Watertown Public Arts & Culture Committee seeks mural artists to submit qualifications to develop a proposal and install a mural along the Watertown Cambridge Greenway under Grove Street. The Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee (PACC) is collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to commission a mural along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway that commemorates the life and work of Arshile Gorky, who, notably, forged the birth of Abstract Expressionism in the United States. The mural is an extension of a larger project by a Watertown working group to memorialize Gorky’s time in Watertown, MA, and his contribution to modern art, led jointly by resident Jack Dargon and the Public Arts and Culture Committee with support from The Armenian Museum of America, Mosesian Center for the Arts, and the Historical Society of Watertown. This project is supported by generous contributions from Mount Auburn Cemetery, the Watertown Community Foundation, the Watertown Cultural Council, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Artist selection for the 100 Years of Arshile Gorky mural has two phases.

Entertainment

Multi Award-Winning Musican Mwalim Will Perform at Watertown Library

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Mwalim will perform at the Watertown Library on July 14. The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:

On Sunday, July 14, the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) and the Watertown Pigsgusset Initiative invite you to experience the electrifying album THUNDERCHILD by Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor. All are welcome! As a multi-award-winning artist and Mashpee Wampanoag elder, Mwalim infuses his latest album THUNDERCHILD with musical history and innovation. Blending soul and blues with undertones of funk, Caribbean, and punk rock – the result is a mesmerizing journey through sound, story, and musical authenticity.

Entertainment

Young Watertown Actress Lands Role in American Repertory Theater’s “Gatsby”

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Watertown’s Kendall Cote plays Pammy in the play “Gatsby”at the American Repertory Theater. (Contributed Photo)

A young Watertown actress made her stage debut in a play headed to Broadway and on one of the area’s most well known stages. Five-year-old Kendall Cote landed a part in the play “Gatsby,” which is in the midst of a 10 week run at the American Repertory Theater in Harvard Square. In her role as Pammy, the daughter of Daisy Buchanan, she goes into the theater five times a week. “We go in, play for a little bit.

Around Town

Army Band to Perform Free Concert at Mosesian Arts

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The 215th Army Band will perform a free concert at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. The following announcement was provided by the Mosesian Center for the Arts:

Mosesian Center for the Arts will welcome the 215th Army Band on June 26 as part of the band’s summer concert tour. Based in Fall River, the “Governor’s Own” 215th Army Band of the Massachusetts Army National Guard remains one of the nation’s finest military bands. For more than 60 years, the band has performed throughout New England and the world, bringing the Army’s musical traditions and goodwill to thousands of listeners. Commander Stephen M. Martins describes the summer concert tour: “In our concerts, we honor both Veterans of our Armed Forces, as well as those serving in the military today.

Entertainment

Watertown Gallery Holding Book Launch Pop-Up This Week

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The following announcement was provided by Storefront Art Projects:

A Book Launch POP-UP June 20-22

Join us Friday, June 21, from 6-8 p.m.  for the official book-launch for Eric Giroux’s novel Zodiac Pets! 

Author reading at 7 p.m.

Book sale and seltzer throughout. In his follow-up to the award-winning Ring On Deli, Eric returns to the hard-luck hamlet of Pennacook, Massachusetts, where misfit Wendy Zhou confronts dark forces aiming to buy the town and plunk a giant dome over it. Also showing: paintings by Jasmine Chen

Gallery Hours: this Thursday and Saturday 1 – 4 p.m.  AND this Friday, June 21, from 6-8 p.m.

The gallery is located at 83 Spring St., Watertown. Find out more at storefrontartprojects.com 

Entertainment

2024 Watertown Summer Concert Series Lineup Released

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Join us at the 2024 Summer Concert Series at Saltonstall Park, located at 149 Main Street next door to City Hall. June 26: Non-Conformists

July 3: HYE Fusion

July 10: Southern Rail

July 17: Squeezebox Stompers

July 24: Fun with Ukulele – bring your uke or borrow one! July 31: 90-Mile Portage

August 7: Phil and the Flying Leap

August 14: The Love Dogs and The Puppeteers Cooperative

August 21: The Sandy Ridge Boys

August 28: The Fatal Flaw

Bring a blanket or chair and enjoy the concerts! See more information.

Entertainment

New Rep’s Run Ends With Fanfare: Several Nominations & 2 Wins at Theater Awards Ceremony

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Valyn Lyric Turner gives her acceptance speech after winning the Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Small Theater for her role in “A Raisin in the Sun.” (Photo by Nile Scott Studios)

Watertown-based New Repertory Theatre closed its doors in 2023, but the company’s final season earned accolades at the recent Elliot Norton Awards in Boston. The following announcement was provided by Maria Hendricks, one of the former Resident Artists/Co-Artistic Directors at New Rep.

New Repertory Theatre’s final season went out with a bang as its productions were celebrated at the esteemed 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards, held at The Huntington Theater on May 20. As one of the Greater Boston area’s premiere mid-sized regional theater companies for 40 years, it was especially gratifying for the company to receive such meaningful recognition as it ended its run. New Rep received 7 Nominations:

• Outstanding Production, Small Theater – A Raisin in the Sun

• Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Small Theater – Damon Singletary – A Raisin in the Sun

• Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Small Theater – Valyn Lyric Turner – A Raisin in the Sun

• Outstanding Director, Small Theater – Lois Roach – A Raisin in the Sun

• Outstanding Director, Small Theater – Pascale Florestal – Diaspora!

Government

Edible Watertown Program Receives National Endowment for the Arts Grant

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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 announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

The Public Arts & Culture Committee is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000. This grant will support the Edible Watertown: Expert Pairings project. In total, the NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants. “Projects like Edible Watertown exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD.