“Since the pandemic, venues have shut down and artists have persevered and struggled with the realities of fulfilling their basic human needs.”

Since its inception in the year leading up to their first major event in 2018, Boston Art & Music Soul (BAMS) Fest has worked at critical intersections—race and gender, art and culture, Boston and the world. The nonprofit’s mission: to “break down racial and social barriers to arts, music, and culture across Greater Boston,” and to “celebrate and support both artists and audiences, with an emphasis on Black and Brown voices, perspectives, and artistry.”

With pandemic times being harder than usual, especially for artists, leading up to their Artdacity series and this year’s BAMS Fest, the team behind the organization finds itself at yet another intersection, one where food merges with art and creativity. We have reported quite extensively at DigBoston about inventive ways that people have helped each other through COVID-19, and you can put this concept at the top of the praise list.

With funding assistance from Fifth Generation (the producers of Tito’s Handmade Vodka), BAMS artists and vols are “providing a hot meal to local artists of color as a way to give back.” Think about that for a second—it helps these establishments as well as creatives simultaneously. Aces, as far as we’re concerned. Last week, two restaurants hosted—Down Home Delivery, and Cesaria, both on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester—with each helping produce 100+ meals to be delivered to BAMS Fest artists and other people in the community.

“Since the pandemic, venues have shut down and artists have persevered and struggled with the realities of fulfilling their basic human needs,” BAMS Fest founder Catherine Morris told the Dig. “BAMS Fest and Fifth Generation found it important to work with local Black-owned restaurants to ensure their visibility within the community.”

bamsfest.org