(video coming soon)
Born and Bred Boston took place on May 3, 2019 and was a unique event featuring performance artists, visual artists, activists, and entrepreneurs who were all born and raised in the city of Boston. The event was intentional in highlighting issues of gentrification and supporting narratives that are rarely given the platform to be heard. This was reinforced by limiting the showcase to only artists who grew up in the city, curating artwork to amplify the message, and designing the space to feel like a construction site - which included scaffolding, chainlink fencing to hold 2D pieces, as well as projections on loop to show buildings being torn down around the city. Although the event was hosted at Mass Art’s Pozen Center, the venue housed a collective blend of both students and long time residents as they gathered together in a shared space to experience the night. Mass Art is the only publicly funded free-standing art institution in the country and it is situated right in Boston, neighboring many communities with little to no art programs or creative outlets. With the goal of bridging the widening social and economical gap in the ever-gentrifying city, Born and Bred Boston was able to connect the bountiful resources of Mass Art and its students with artists and creatives "born and bred" in the surrounding neighborhoods - in hopes of learning from one and other and building lasting connections. A special thank you to Mass Art SIM, the Center for Community Partnerships, , our artists, performers and all of those to lent a hand in this production.
GRAPHIC DESIGN BY MIGLADI + DARBY
The design for Born and Bred Boston's poster was inspired by my grandmothers photos dating to the 1970s during Boston's "first wave" of gentrification. Images included buildings being turndown and highways being built were included in multiple aspects of the events production.
ARTWORK BY WILTON TEJEDA
PHOTO BY STEVEN JULIEN-STEWART
GUEST VIEWING ARTWORK
PHOTO BY STEVEN JULIEN-STEWART
