JP Residents, Urbano Project Receive City Grants for Public Art Projects in Response to COVID-19

Several Jamaica Plain residents and a local nonprofit received public arts grants from the city focused on addressing public connectedness during these insecure times. A total of $35,000 in grants were given through the city's Transformative Public Art Program. The city announced a call to artists in April with particular interest in temporary and new media art projects that respond to COVID-19. Grants were provided in two categories: Now and Later. Now projects will take place in a virtual or public setting through September 30 of this year, and are $5,000, $2,500, or $1,000 grants.

2,931 Views

Native American Artist Rachel Allen’s airplay Opens at Urbano Project

Urbano Project invites the community to celebrate the opening of airplay, a site-specific interactive installation by artist Rachel Allen (Nez Perce) on January 23. This is the culmination of her fall 2019 artist residency, Allen's airplay will be on view at Urbano's Jamaica Plain gallery from January 23 through March 14, 2020 with an opening reception on Jan. 23 from 6 to 8 pm. Allen aims to unsettle the air we breathe and otherwise manipulate. If we think about our experience through the air-the ubiquitous material we are suspended in-then we can contemplate what decolonization requires.

3,307 Views

Open Reception: Rachel Allen’s “airplay” at Urbano Project

Urbano Project celebrates the opening of "airplay," a site-specific interactive installation by Native American artist Rachel Allen (Nez Perce) on Thursday, January 23, 6:00-8:00PM. The culmination of her Fall 2019 artist residency, Allen's "airplay" will be on view at Urbano's Jamaica Plain gallery through March 14, 2020. Allen aims to unsettle the air we breathe and otherwise manipulate. If we think about our experience through the air-the ubiquitous material we are suspended in-then we can contemplate what decolonization requires. If decolonization is not a metaphor or symbolic act, then we must reassess the entire environment we occupy.

Urbano Project Holiday Open House on Dec. 14

Urbano Project kicks off its 10th Anniversary Celebration with a free holiday open house on Dec. 14th. The Urbano Project invites the community into their studio/gallery for behind-the-scenes exhibition tours, a family-friendly drop-in origami workshop with Artist-in-Residence Erin Genia, a bookmaking class demonstration by Artist-in-Residence Rachel Allen and her Youth Artist Project students. There will be live music, drinks, holiday snacks, and lots of cool prints created by Urbano’s artists for sale. This is the first in a series of events celebrating Urbano’s 10th anniversary.

1,532 Views

Holiday Open House to kick-off Urbano Project’s 10th Anniversary

Urbano Project kicks off its 10th Anniversary Celebration with a FREE Holiday Open House, sponsored by State Street Bank. There will be live music, art workshops and demonstrations, drinks, holiday snacks, and lots of cool prints created by Urbano’s artists for sale!  All happening at Urbano's gallery in the Brewery Complex, 29 Germania Street.  FREE admission. Join us at our studio/gallery for behind-the-scenes exhibition tours, a family-friendly drop-in origami workshop with Artist-in-Residence Erin Genia, a bookmaking class demonstration by Artist-in-Residence Rachel Allenand her Youth Artist Project students. The first in a series of events celebrating Urbano’s 10th Anniversary, this day-long event gives you a rare opportunity to take part in our organization’s daily projects and to hear firsthand from youth, staff, and artists about their current conversations around land and social issues. Plus, find out about volunteering and work opportunities at Urbano!

Know What ‘Okoŋwaŋžidaŋ’ Means? Find Out at New Urbano Project Exhibition Opening Oct. 24

Urbano Project is presenting Artist-in-Residence Erin Genia’s first solo show in Boston, Okoŋwaŋžidaŋ, which means “oneness, being of one mind” in the Dakota language. The exhibit is opening October 24, and is running through December 21, with an opening reception on Thursday, October 24 from 6-8 pm at Urbano’s gallery at the Brewery Complex in Jamaica Plain. Genia (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate) is a multidisciplinary Dakota artist with an MS in Art, Culture and Technology from MIT. She works with painting, ceramic, sound, performance, and video installation to create a powerful presence of Indigeneity that invokes an evolution of thought and practice aligned with the cycles of the natural world and the potential of humanity. In Dakota philosophy, all things exist within a continuum of life, and the concept of mitakuye oyasin -- we are all related, extends not only to other people, but to animals, plants, minerals, electricity, air, objects, and everything in existence.

1,923 Views

Opening Reception: Erin Genia: Okonwanzidan at Urbano Project

Urbano Project hosts the opening reception of artist-in-residence Erin Genia’s first solo show in Boston, Okoŋwaŋžidaŋ, which means oneness, being of one mind in the Dakota language. Genia (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate) is a multidisciplinary Dakota artist with an MS in Art, Culture and Technology from MIT. She works with painting, ceramic, sound, performance, and video installation to create a powerful presence of Indigeneity that invokes an evolution of thought and practice aligned with the cycles of the natural world and the potential of humanity. In Dakota philosophy, all things exist within a continuum of life, and the concept of mitakuye oyasin - we are all related, extends not only to other people, but to animals, plants, minerals, electricity, air, objects, and everything in existence. As we operate within political and economic systems that divide us, people have forgotten that we are not separate from the earth – we are the earth.

24 Jamaica Plain Orgs & Projects Receive Boston Cultural Council Grants

A smorgasbord of Jamaica Plain organizations and projects received thousands of dollars thanks after the city dispersed its Cultural Council Organizational Grants. The Boston Cultural Council (BCC) Organizational Grants are distributed annually to arts and cultural organizations that are based in Boston, or offer programming in Boston. Grants varied for each organization, going as high as $5,000 per organization. The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, in partnership with the Boston Cultural Council (BCC), awarded grants to 221 Boston arts organizations and projects, totaling $487,000. "Boston is home to so many incredible arts organizations and cultural institutions that work tirelessly to bring opportunities to engage in creative expression to every individual, in every neighborhood," said Kara Elliott-Ortega, Boston's Chief of Arts and Culture, according to a press release. "It's great to see Boston provide increased support and resources to these organizations year after year, and witness the impact it has on our local communities."

3,105 Views

New Urbano Project Exhibition, ‘Wandering in the Land of Oblivion,’ Responds to Forced Migration and Displacement

Considering current events, artist Contanza Aguirre's new exhibition at Urbano Project is very timely. Her art references thousands of her fellow Colombians who were forced to leave the country due to the drug war and civil conflict. The Paris-based artist's exhibition features large-scale black and white works on paper that represent people in movement performing acts of human work and labor. Within her work she looks at emancipation and reclamation. "The social impact of Aguirre’s work resides in the fact that it acknowledges the importance of art and craft making­ – herein painting – as a meaningful and dynamic representation of the vital need of humanity for freedom and progress,” said French art critic Gérald Souillac, according to a press release.

4,047 Views

La Victoria: Resilience and Creativity at Urbano Project

La Victoria: Resilience & Creativity, an exhibition of photographs by the SALTO Collective examining issues of belonging and identity in their home city of Santiago, Chile, will be on view at Urbano Project, September 5 – November 8, 2018. An opening celebration will take place on September 5 from 6-8PM, with a talk by Chilean-American writer and human rights activist Marjorie Agosin. Urbano is presenting La Victoria as part of a series exploring the themes of Resilience and Sustainability. The "Población La Victoria" is one of the most emblematic neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile. Viewers can imagine La Victoria as a small town with unique characteristics within the big city.