The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper
“Knowing Storage Space was going to happen and be presented in locations not designed for artwork display gives artists and communities our power back and a chance to do intriguing work.”
“It was to create a different municipality that was a majority of people of color and working class folks, because we wanted a seat at the table.”
"Hong Kong doesn’t only lack animation studios, but more importantly, we’re far behind—homosexual marriages are still illegal."
In June, Jason “Swat” Talbot was invited to paint a mural on Posto, the pizza place outside Somerville’s Davis Square. Amidst the Black Lives Matter protests, someone had tagged “BLM” on the wall, Talbot says, “really sloppily.”
“In the midst of all this, people have been really interested in what I’m doing, eager to talk. It is different from putting art in galleries.”
These are the few human beings I had contact with during that time. As the state reopens, may these portraits represent a glimpse into what the past few months felt like for some young people in this city and others.
“Going to galleries and museums is going to be very different, because people are not going to be willing to stand in a room with one hundred other people.”
Artists are seeing their worlds close during the pandemic. The exhibits, displays, and sales that provide their income have come to a halt, and artists in and around Boston have found themselves alone and unsupported by the government while struggling to find their footing financially.
For the 20th year in a row, the artists of Somerville will open their doors to the public from Friday, May 4 to Sunday, May 6. Even as we write, living rooms are being converted into galleries, kitchens into showrooms, and studios everywhere are being cleaned ...
