Fairmount Cultural Corridor: Where Art Moves

Fairmount Cultural Corridor (FCC): In December we hired our 5th Artist-in-Residence, Aziza Goodnight-Robinson, who has been present since the birth of this initiative. She will be working as our Artist in “Transit” riding the Fairmount/Indigo Commuter Rail line, engaging residents and T riders in occasional creative place-making and dialogue.  We are so very pleased to have her on the team you can look forward to meeting her riding the Fairmount Indigo Line.  To get more details and see what our other artists are doing, check out our website www.fairmountculturalcorrridor.org 

On December 19th, FCC kicked off our Winter Celebration at the Strand Theatre, to celebrate the work of our artists-in-residence, and it was quite a success. Julie Burros, the City’s new Chief of Arts and Culture, attended the event and agreed to speak.  She kept it quite festive taking pictures with residents, artists, and FCC staff.  We had 8 Artists selling artisan crafts in the Holiday UP Market during the event (if you are an artist interested in selling your crafts at the next UP Market view our website or visit www.artmorpheus.com).  Some of the Artists featured in the UP Market, The Bird Street Glass Blowers (Part of the Bird Street Entrepreneurship Program email info@birdstreet.org for more details) Mariama White-Hammond with her specialty knitted items like scarves and hats, and Vernell Jordan with her hand made leather accessories. 

At this celebration, sounds of live holiday/jazz music filled the room, performed by the Fred Woodard Collective (www.fredwoodard.com).  This event was held in conjunction with Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre (JMBT), which organized “The Nutcracker” at the Strand Theatre that weekend.  DSNI participated in the Theatre’s Community Ticket Access Program (CTAP) that provides free tickets to neighborhood residents. Approximately 700 tickets were given by the FCC initiative and 600 of those tickets were given by DSNI.

Additionally, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre has a ballet School opening up in the Dorchester Studio, 14 Cushing Ave, 02125. For more info please go to JMBT’s website www.ballettheatre.org or contact Danubia Campos at DSNI. 

Are you an artist?  Event planner? Creative collaborator? Resident?  Do you want to become part of our creative place-making efforts in the neighborhoods along the corridor? Help plan our next event?  A thinker who wants to be heard or a speaker who wants to listen?  Come to our next Arts and Culture Committee Meeting February 5th, 2015 from 6:30-8:00pm (the first Wednesday of the month). For further information, and how to get involved, please contact Ramona Lisa Alexander at ralexander@dsni.org.  We look forward to meeting and or reconnecting with you soon.