Eliot School’s Alison Croney Moses Awarded Prestigious US Artists Fellowship

The Eliot School's Associate Director Alison Croney Moses, has been awarded a prestigious US Artists Fellowship. This national prize recognizes artists with a $50,000 cash award for their contributions to the field. Croney Moses is one of five award-winners in the field of craft, among a total of 63 thinkers and makers who represent communities across 23 states and Puerto Rico, spanning every career stage, and illuminating a breadth of artistic practices, according to a press release. “After another year of challenges brought on by the pandemic, artists continue uplifting those around them and investing in their communities. The 2022 USA Fellows were selected for their remarkable artistic vision and their commitment to community – both within their specific regions and discipline at large,” says the US Artists’ website.

2,631 Views

Eliot Schoolyard Live Concert Series on Sundays Starting June 6

Live music returns to a delightful outdoor space all summer long as three disparate curators will bring a wide variety of artistry to the Eliot School yard, from jazz to hip hop, harp to steel drums.

Opening June 6 with jazz trio Man on Land and closing September 26 with singer/songwriter Tarciso Alves, the series runs every Sunday at 4 pm (except July 4 & Labor Day weekend). Among others, local star Miranda Rae will perform; DJ WhySham, Dzidzor, and Prateek will bring their energy and artistry; Brian Friedland’s piano joins jazz favorites Giuseppe Paradiso, Josh Rosen, Charles Overton, and David Eure; and an eclectic mix rounds out the series, including Tempo International Rhythm Section, 40 Million Feet, The Eduardo Project, and others. Curators are Oompa and The Record Co., which just opened its expanded community recording facilities this spring; Hoopla Productions, which produced Jamaica Plain Porchfest for the past several years; and jazz composer/pianist Brian Friedland, who initiated concerts in the Eliot Schoolyard last fall. Each set of curators programmed five Sundays, drawing upon Boston’s wealth of musical talent and energy. Admission is free, and all are welcome, with advance registration highly recommended at eliotschool.org/EliotSchoolyardConcerts.

2,793 Views

‘Jamaica Plain Through Time’ Takes Readers on Historical Tour of Neighborhood

Historian Anthony Sammarco's newest book Jamaica Plain Through Time chronicles the neighborhood from the late 19th century through to the 21st century. The following is from Sammarco's book with contemporary photographs by Peter B. Kingman. Known in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the Jamaica End of Roxbury, the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, evolved from agrarian farmland for over 200 years into one of the more dynamic and inclusive neighborhoods of twenty-first century Boston. Jamaica Plain became one of the earliest streetcar suburbs of Boston with various forms of transportation linking it to downtown Boston. With horse drawn streetcars, the Boston & Providence Railroad as well as the Boston Elevated Railway, by the turn of the twentieth century, the ease of transportation allowed a thriving nexus of cultures to move to a community that not only saw tremendous residential and commercial development, especially with the numerous breweries along the Stony Brook, but also green space and open lands that were laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted as a part of the "Emerald Necklace" of Boston.

3,452 Views

From Wampanoag Myth to Modern Inequity Eliot School Teens’ Video Reflects on Past and Future

Students of the Teen Bridge Program at the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts collaborated with elders from a variety of neighborhoods to reflect upon our past and future in a new video. Lead by filmmaker Carolyn Shadid Lewis, InterGeneration is a collaborative project that uses the perspective of mostly indigenous, immigrant, and black community leaders, artists, activists, educators and public health workers, to go on personal journeys to show anxiety, loss, and hope during the pandemic and a struggle for racial justice. The full video will be available to view on Dec. 3. InterGeneration Trailer from Carolyn Shadid Lewis on Vimeo.

2,608 Views

Friedland & Friends LIVE Jazz Series

Friedland & Friends LIVE Jazz Series

Pianist/composer Brian Friedland with Catherine Bent 9/20

Man on Land 9/27

Shaw Pong Liu & Dave Cordes 10/11

Steve Fell 10/18

Rob Flax 10/25. 4 pm on Sundays, Sept 20-Oct 25. Eliot Schoolyard, 24 Eliot Street

Advance tickets required: https://eliotschool.org/programs/events

Coronavirus Collateral Damage: Funerals, Animal Vets, Art Schools, Wake Up The Earth Festival, All Affected

The damage wrought by COVID-19 is permeating all aspects of society. Our funerals are being affected, our woodworking classes are being cancelled, and our beloved Wake Up The Earth Festival is not happening May 2. The Forest Hills Cemetery was consecrated in 1848, and it's not clear if there's ever been restrictions placed on the number of attendees allowed at funerals. But now there are -- in accordance with Governor Charlie Baker's executive order, burials are now limited to 25 people, according to Forest Hills Cemetery's website. Along with the 25 person limit, there are other new protocols:
We are requesting that all family members remain in their cars until the casket has been placed at the gravesite and the Cemetery personnel have left the area.

2,403 Views

Maggie Hill Scholarship Honors Memory of Eliot School Student of Four Decades

Maggie Hill took her first class at the Eliot School at 27, and continued to take them at the Jamaica Plain school into her 70s. In honor of her lengthy love and support of Eliot School, a scholarship has been created in her memory. "Maggie Hill was a student of the Eliot School for over four decades and a cherished face at our schoolhouse... Our Maggie Hill Scholarship commemorates Maggie’s love for craft and spirit of generosity. The scholarship will allow several students each year to attend classes tuition-free.

1,995 Views

Eliot School, Kevin Cradock Builders Form Partnership and Youth Scholarship

The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts recently announced a partnership with Kevin Cradock Builders that will help foster the next generation of craftspeople. The Jamaica Plain-based builder has funded the Kevin Cradock Builders Youth Scholarship that will provide a full week of summer camp for one child each summer for 10 years. In addition, Cradock Builders will underwrite several woodworking classes for young people. The class underwriting will be for five terms for Kids Woodworking (ages 9-12) and will cover the administrative costs, which will help absorb costs to put on the class, such as instructor fees. Kevin Cradock Builders has been a past donor of the Eliot School, but this is a higher level of commitment. “The Eliot School is able to put tools and materials in the hands of students, help them forge a small connection with their surroundings, and possibly spark the beginning of a lifetime’s work with their hands.

2,803 Views

Eliot School, in JP Since 1600s, May Move

In 1676, the Eliot School was founded when a group of residents donated corn and land to open a school in Jamaica Plain. After more than 340 years, the Eliot School could possibly move out of the neighborhood. In June, Abigail Norman, executive director for the Eliot School, wrote about the fine arts and crafts school's current multi-year research process. In 2018, a team of architects explored what it might look like to expand the schoolhouse on Eliot Street. This year, consultants Jennifer Gilbert and Traggorth Companies are exploring what it might look like to move operations to a new Boston location, either completely or in part. The school offers a variety of classes for people of all ages -- from preschool to the elderly.

5,023 Views