AN INDEPENDENT ARTS & CULTURE GUIDE
CELEBRATE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAY’S OF THE YEAR, JUNETEENTH, WITH BOSTON!
Each year, we develop new ways to honor the lives of enslaved people and celebrate Juneteenth, the day recognizing the last public declaration of emancipation after the Civil War. In doing so, we also generate novel understandings of how we have carved out spaces for life despite the way these histories of enslavement continue to affect our current moment. Here’s a list of some of the ways you can celebrate Juneteenth in Boston and take part in these reflections:
Two GroundBeat Concerts at the Hatch Memorial Shell
June 8th and June 15th 6:30 – 8:30pm
Make your way to the Hatch Shell by the Esplanade for two pre-Juneteenth concerts. Produced by the Esplanade Association, GroundBeat is a free music series that partners with local artists and musicians who are working to strengthen the scene here in Boston. The program on June 8th is curated by Sympli Whitney Productionz with performances by Sympli Whitney, DJ Saucy Lady, and an ensemble.
The June 15th concert will be produced by AfroDesiaCity, a Boston-based consulting company that “specializes in live entertainment and special networking, and other value-added community events.” The evening will be hosted by Olasco Boston and include performances by DJ Troy Frost, VLA Dance, and Danny Rivera.
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BOSTON URBAN PRIDE WEEKEND (JUNE 29TH – JULY 3RD)
As a response to numerous conversations within our QTBIPC community, many acknowledging the predominantly white LGBTQIA+ spaces in Boston, myself, Eilakeisha Spencer, and Curtis Santos founded Boston Lesbigay Urban Foundation, a 501c3 community-led, nonprofit organization, and subsequently, Boston Lesbigay Urban Events (B.L.U.E.). We coordinate and host events that highlight and provide services to Boston’s QTBIPOC community. Pride festivals and parades are often the reason members of the LGBTQIA+ community visit a city, sometimes for the first time. Boston urban pride started during the pandemic (2020), and we had over 1000 viewers watch our virtual pride celebration. In 2021 and 2022, hundreds of QTBIPOC community members from numerous states were drawn to our in-person events in and around the city of Boston. We focus on bridging the gap in education, giving our underserved community the opportunity to display their black/brown/Latino pride and talent in a safe and welcoming space, receiving resources on mental health, medical care (Covid-19 vaccines, Monkey Pox vaccines, annual physicals, learning about HIV & STI prevention/interventions), food access programs, and community resources. This year’s celebration will include the following 9 events:
June 29, 2023:
•Youth Pride Event (301 Columbia Rd, 12PM-5PM)
June 30, 2023:
• Welcome to Boston Mixer (Residence Inn South End, 2PM-6PM)
•Pitch-Black “The annual all-black affair” (OceanSide Ballroom, Revere, 9:30PM -1:30AM)
July 1, 2023:
•3 on 3 Basketball Tournament (Almont Park, 9AM)
•Health Summit (Bruce Bolling Municipal Building, 11AM-3PM)
•Drip Pool Party (Mojitos Country Club, 2PM-7PM)
•Entourage Part II (HAVA Nightclub, 10PM-2AM)
July 2, 2023:
•Music and Arts Festival (TBA, 12PM-6PM)
•Grand finale event “Detox” (Yas Chicken, Allston, 10PM-2AM)
Our intention in hosting these events is not only to be a catalyst for change in the community, but also to bring individuals together and allow individuals to create long-lasting healthy relationships as their true authentic selves. For tickets and more information, visit: https://www.lesbigayurbanfoundation.org/ bup.
THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL, A LOCAL AGENCY WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, AS ADMINSTRATED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS + CULTURE THIS PAPER IS AN ONGOING PROJECT OF BRAIN ARTS ORGANIZATION, INC., A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO, VOLUNTEERING OR OTHERWISE SUPPORTING US: BRAIN-ARTS.ORG
—Jessica Hernandez
LAYOUT
Phoebe Delmonte: p.1, 4, 5 Hannah Blauner: p.2, 3, 7 Adrian Alvarez: p.6, 8
DESIGN:
Eilakeisha Spencer, LMHC (Deputy Director)
Art by: Madison Gustave
Embrace Ideas Festival
June 14th – June 16th
This is the second Embrace Ideas Festival and the first since the unveiling of the Embrace memorial in the Boston Common. Centered on the theme “Here and Present, the Art of Reclaiming Space and Time,” this three-day celebration contains an endless array of activities. There will be music and concerts, keynote speeches, lunches, panel discussions, and a block party – all taking place throughout Boston. Whether they’re scholars, community leaders, or artistactivists, this year’s participants have been crucial in leading the struggles against antiBlackness and structures of racial inequity. As such, they’re bringing their knowledge of arts and culture, history, and advocacy to the festival. With this in mind, each day of the program has a specific focus. Some of the themes include “Unearthing History and Monumentalizing the Truth,” “Creativity is the Center of Black Resistance,” and ‘Who Made the Potato Salad?’ Ultimately, the Embrace Ideas Festival offers an exciting, varied, and thought-provoking space that will not only explore the historical legacies of Juneteenth, but also its contemporary reverberations and our current sociopolitical landscape. Please head over to their website for a full schedule and information on registration, ticket purchases, and event locations: www.embraceideasfestival.org
Hyde Park Juneteenth Joy Celebration
June 17th 10am – 3pm
On June 17th, Hyde Park will hold its second annual Juneteenth Celebration. Organized by the West Fairmount Hill Community and located at the Martini Memorial Shell Park and Moynihan Recreation Area, the event features performances, games, art-making, movement and dance, Black vendors, and food from local businesses. The program also includes a ceremony by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company A and the singing of the Black National Anthem. There will also be an exhibit celebrating the lives of Hyde Park residents and the work of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Builders. Please make your way to this incredibly curated celebration to not only have a joyous time, but also honor those doing meaningful work to foster community and facilitate our collective advancement.
Juneteenth: A Block Party
June 18th 12 – 3pm
Brookline for the Culture, “a black woman led group seeking to dismantle systems of oppression and promote culturally significant events and gatherings in the community,” is hosting a block party in the neighborhood. Setting up on Harvard Street around the Florida Ruffin Ridley School, the festivities will include exciting activities for all ages. There will be bounce houses, music, dunk tanks, and rest areas. The block party will also host vendors and food trucks. Please
come out for the party and support Brookline for the Culture.
13th Annual Juneteenth Emancipation
Observance
June 19th
In collaboration with The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, the Boston Juneteenth Committee will host the thirteen annual Emancipation Observance. Curating each year with a critical theme, the subject for 2023 is “Juneteenth: Honoring Our Martyrs and Heroes.” The scheduled program begins at 12pm EST with a flagraising at the historic Dillaway-Thomas House. After, there will be a parade to the Museum at 1pm with the Museum Grounds Opening shortly at 2:15pm. During this time, there will be music, food, and family-friendly activities. At 4pm, the formal Emancipation Program will begin. Overall, participants can look forward to an interesting discussion especially as it relates to the central theme.
Free Admission to The Museum of Fine Arts
June 19th
Visit the MFA for free on Juneteenth for a variety of happenings, including a look at its current exhibit “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina.” The schedule for the day includes drop-in pottery making, storytelling, and dance performances. There will also be discussions that you don’t want to miss, such as a conversation on the “future activism of Juneteenth” with Boston youth, as well as “a call-and-response performance that maps Black un-American lineage” with artist and poet Golden.
Again, while you’re at the MFA don’t forget to view the exhibit “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina.” Using artisanal pieces created, molded, and designed by enslaved persons, this exhibit explores the difficult and complex histories embodied in these ceramic vessels. These works provide a unique way of preserving and grappling with our understanding of slavery and crucially – how we remember the lives, artistry, and material contributions of Black people in the United States.
As always, the period surrounding Juneteenth provides a space for deep reflections on the current status of Black communities in the United States. How do we pursue the ongoing and unfinished projects of freedom, emancipation, and autonomy? What have been our strategies, what are our current methods, and what approaches do we need to try out? And in what ways can we ensure that our demands for Black liberation encompass other efforts such as movements for gender autonomy, struggles against ableism, and the return of Indigenous lands? This year’s Juneteenth events are sure to spark such meditations on our past, our activism, and our collective efforts for a radically different life.
‘DEEVO TYPE BEAT’ THE ALBUM
DeevoDaGenius, praised Lowell producer & engineer, has just gifted us with another classic right in time for spring. Deevo Type Beat the album is the 8th and yet another generous composition full of nostalgic samples, coy titles and lush tunes meant for reflecting. The creation of meaningful and thought provoking music is nothing new to da genius and we see that in track 9 ’Angel Tears/Blooming’ where he puts on display his ability to contrast his work like night and day. While track 12 ‘All Praises’ is overflowing with just that and selective heavy hitters— the process for creating his music is just as thoughtful as the process for choosing his features. Sampling one of his homies and another local underrated star—MP on
‘El Negrito Bandito/UPS the Box’. Deevo reminds us that he is no stranger to showing love to his day ones such as—Thierno Diallo, Erdanez The Weapon, Maye Star, Reef & Seefour. Who also make special appearances throughout the album on tracks ‘All Praises’ & ‘Changin’. To get a further taste of what Da Genius has to offer, you might wanna take yourself back to his earlier projects ‘Chop Party!’ Or ‘A Genius Named Nadiv’ where his work really shows the building blocks of who exactly the infamous producer is. Not to mention gracefully creating art while grinding through school and building his own studio from scratch with the help of his collective—Unda Konstruction.
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POETIC PATTIE
more at bostoncompassnewspaper.com
**We strongly encourage all to take careful precautions when going out to public events! Follow the venue’s requirements regarding vaccination/negative Covid tests and masking instructions! Always double check the event online just in case they need to cancel!**
music & audio
6/3 Cape Crush, Me in Capris, Shiver, Sonder @O'Briens Pub
8PM 21+ $10
6/3 Moral Law, Memento, xNomadx, Balmora, Cold Kiss @The Hoff (Holyoke, MA)
6PM All Ages $15
6/3 KLYAM presents Juan Wauters with Andy California @Lilypad
10PM All Ages $17-20
6/3 Hate Still Burns, Heavy Weight, No Allegiance, Gumskab, Born Cursed, Cold Case @Sammy's Patio
7PM All Ages $15
6/4 BIPOQ Pride Presents Trina Rockstar with Kidd Kenn and Cookiee Kawaii @Big Night Live
8PM 21+ $40
6/6 grein, Victoria Cheah, Lautaro Mantilla, Sheer Anxiety @O'Briens Pub 9PM 21+ $10
6/7 Non Event Presents
Sawt Out & Suzueri with Bonnie Jones duo @Goethe-Institut Boston
8PM All Ages $10-15
6/7 Abandoncy, New Forms, Rong, The Cost Ov Living @O'Briens Pub 9PM 21+ $12-15
6/9 Pop Punk Pizza Night: DJ Coach spinning recs + house made za!
@Deep Cuts Deli
7PM All Ages $5-10
6/9 Dischordia (OK),
6/9 Baabes, Airport, The Lights Out, Fox Canadian @The Jungle
7:30PM 21+ $10
6/10-11 eXpozedTV Presents The Grind Jam Session Music Business Conference offering networking opportunities, music business education, and live performances to empower creative minds and business-oriented individuals in the music industry. This two-day event provides attendees with the chance to expand their knowledge, create meaningful connections, and stay on track towards a successful career path. One + two day tickets available. 12PM-8PM $150-250 www.expozedtv.com/
6/10 Puppy Problems, American Poetry Club, Long Neck, Trust Fund Partial benefit for Stop Cop City
@Democracy Center
7PM All Ages $10-15
6/10 Death Valley Girls, Abraxas
@Deep Cuts Deli
7PM All Ages $13-15
6/11 Jason Kaminski, Tuxis Giant, The Michael Character, Mairead Band @O'Briens Pub
9PM 21+ $10-12
6/11 American Nightmare, Mouth Washington, Gumskab @ SPACE Gallery (Portland, ME) 4:30PM-9PM All Ages $25
6/11 Schoolyard Summer Concert Series ft Cocktail Hour (R&B, Neo-soul).
Bring your own seats! No animals, please.
@Eliot School for the Arts
5PM-7PM All Ages FREE
6/14 Fully Celebrated Orchestra w/ Ben Shaw + Michael Bravata
@Midway Cafe
8PM 21+ $5
6/15 AfroDesiaCity Presents GroundBeat a pre-Juneteenth celebration ft. DJ TROY Frost, VLA Dance, + Danny Rivera. @HATCH Memorial Shell
6:30PM All Ages FREE
6/15 Cat Piss, Big Mess, Fat Randy, Bad at Drawing @O'Briens Pub
9PM 21+ $10-12
6/16 Dunamis + Meraki Productions Present House Sessions Open Mic @Sam Adams Boston Brewery, JP 7PM All Ages FREE
6/17 Mochitsuki, Gaud, Lahnah, Opposable Partial benefit for Material Aid + Advocacy Program
@Democracy Center
7PM All Ages $10-15
6/18 Schoolyard Summer Concert Series
ft Rhombus (Collective improvisation). Bring your own seats! No animals, please.
@Eliot School for the Arts
5PM-7PM All Ages FREE
@eliotschoolcraft
6/20 Get to the Gig Presents: Stuck + Landowner
@O'Briens Pub
9PM 18+ $13-15
6/22-24 Boston Art & Music Soul Festival (BAMS) Get your tickets now to one of the best annual fests Boston has to give! Featuring performances by Tim Hall, Nate Nics, Tori Tori, Notebook P., Cake$wagg, Kei and more!! Plus tons of activities for the whole family including vendors, food, drink, live art + graffiti exhibition. Many ticket options available from FREE to paid VIP seats!
@Franklin Park, Playstead Field 10AM All Ages FREE-$300
6/23 Dig Boston
Fundraiser featuring Baabes, Esh & the Isolations, Ruffian Dick, Goon Platoon, and Turn Heel @O'Briens Pub
9PM 21+ $10
6/23 Anthropophagous, Corrode, Yambag, Wormface @The Nook
6/24 Three Knee Deep, Buried Dreams, Street Power, Opposition, Papercut
@Sons of Italy (Hingham)
6PM All Ages $20
6/29 Bad Idea USA, Pink Slip, The Jacklights, Blame It On Whitman
@Deep Cuts Deli
7PM All Ages $15-17
6/30 AfroDesiaCity Presents Black Music Month Celebration
Concert Inspired by the "Breathe Life Together" mural by Robert "ProBlak" Gibbs as an ode to Boston and Hip Hop. Hosted by Akrobatik. Performances by SharlaFabulous + DJ ILL Neil.
@Dewey Square on the Greenway 5PM All Ages FREE
performance art
6/2-6/4 African Fashion Week Boston Every year some of Boston's best cultural fashion designers, activists and artists weave together an experience that manifests the rich African tapestry of New England. After much anticipation, African Fashion Week Boston happens this June with a cultural experience that will resurrect the diaspora in you. Ft. panel discussions, fashion shows, cultural dance, marketplace and more! Learn more at www.afwboston.com
@The Guild Works 7PM
6/2-6/18 Developed from interviews with Ukrainian refugees, the Arlekin Players' new show, The Gaaga, puts Putin on the trial he deserves. Tix at ArlekinPlayers.com
@Beat Brew Hall
8PM All Ages
$25 Virtual/$34+ Inperson
6/2-6/25 As You Like It turned gender norms on their head back in 1599, Actors Shakespeare Project and the Theatre Offensive brings the Bard's beloved comedy to Tufts @ Balch Arena Theater
8PM All Ages $25+
6/3 ECO : ANIMAL : KIN featuring featuring Melissa Buckheit, Andy Taylor-Blenis, Karen Klein, Ken Kan an interdisciplinary modern dance theatre project that uses recorded sound & text-scape, poetry, collaborative
film, live dance, and dance film to create an immersive narrative and visual movement performance which seeks to ask questions and explore realities and histories about our unique relationship as fellow human animals with nature and the environment, other living creatures, history & oppression, energy, place, the past/future, social mores and the living earth.
@The Dance Complex
8PM All Ages $10-30
6/13 - 7/16 Three actors take us through three generations of brothers navigating capitalism in flux from the 1840s to the 2000s in The Lehman Trilogy. Tix at HuntingtonTheatre.org
@The Huntington Theatre
8PM All Ages $20+
6/2-6/6 Jean Renoir’s
The Rules of the Game is a searing critique of the bourgeois and considered one of the greatest films ever made.
@Brattle Theater
4:30PM All Ages $14
6/5 My Cousin Vinny is the '90s courtroom comedy you didn't know you needed
@Coolidge Corner Theater
7PM All Ages $16.25
6/9-8/13 This Summer experience the entire oeuvre of Japan's master of cinema Yasujiro Ozu Our picks this month include Late Spring on 6/9 + 6/11, Tokyo Story on 6/10 + 6/18, and The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice on 6/23.
@ Harvard Film Archive
7PM All Ages FREE
6/11 GRCB BEATS Video
Premiere and Name
Reveal Party Doors open at 2PM, BEATS videos created by the amazing youth from Gardner Pilot Academy premiere at 2:30PM. At 3:15 stay tuned for the BIG reveal of the NEW NAME for GRCB! Stay until 5PM to enjoy tunes from DJ Sit N Spin, dancing, art projects using the new name and logo, treats, raffle prizes, and new name merch!
video & film
6/16-20 Parker Posey
shines as the '90s NYC fashion and comedy icon she is in Party Girl
@Brattle Theater
8PM All Ages $14
6/17 Celebrate
Father's Day with the ironically fitting Kubrick masterpiece The Shining @Brattle Theater
1:30PM All Ages $14
6/17 The Ramones rule the halls of a fanatic teen's heart in Rock n’ Roll High School with an epic Prom-themed dance party upstairs at Crystal Ballroom afterwards. Part of their new series Off the Reel…And Onto the Dance Floor.
@Somerville Theatre
7:30PM-10PM $14
6/22 Jawbreaker is the '90s response to Heathers with peak fashion and killer comedy
@Coolidge Corner Theater
7PM All Ages $16.25
6/23-24 Musical masters
David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto show their acting chops with the latter providing his most iconic score in Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
@Brattle Theater
8PM All Ages $14
6/23 Ridley Scott's futuristic fantasy Blade Runner: The Final Cut screens
A $7 Tuesday deal!
@Kendall Square Cinema
7PM All Ages $7
6/26 Try to follow the twists and turns in this international comedy thriller, Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn @Brattle Theater
7PM All Ages $16.25
6/29 Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is an intimate portrait of the musician's return to music following a cancer diagnosis
@Brattle Theater
5PM All Ages $14
visual art
6/10 Elevated Thought Presents RWRK Showcase: Utopia a multimedia gallery with performances by students who were tasked with designing an outfit that represented their ideal utopian state. They were instructed to use repurposed materials such as old curtains, blankets, and clothing to create their designs, in a world where mass production no longer exists.
@Elevated Thought
4PM All Ages FREE
Until 6/25 Holding Space: Meditations on Queer Experience This show will allow queer artists a platform to display work that showcases the intimate details of their experience of their own identity. This work is by queer creators and centers a queer audience.
Curated by Theodora
Earthwurms
@Assemblage Art Space
Until 6/29 BAD MATH: Brooke Stewart constructs a love letter to the artists and makers of Boston who, much like the medium of woodblock printing, continuously carve and build their lives in service of their work. Curated by Liz Morlock.
@BCA Mills Gallery
Until 6/30 Call and Response: Illustration in Uncertain Times features illustrations and graphic designs by seven local AAPI artists including Deborah Johnson and Payal Kumar who have used their craft to speak to this complicated moment. As with other kinds of labor, these artistic gestures offer critical support to the community by giving voice to different experiences and encouraging care.
@PAO Arts Center
Until 6/30 Workers Statues in Chinatown by Wen-ti Tsen pays tribute to the workers who have uplifted Boston Chinatown through their essential labor over the decades. The four sets of clay models Tsen has developed for the project represent four different workers from the Chinese immigrant community.
@PAO Arts Center
Until 7/30 Project Room No. 5: Szu-Chieh Yun In a new body of work called Rage & Ecstasy, painter and installation artist Szu-Chieh Yun, explores and complicates our perception of the complex character of Karen.
@BCA Mills Gallery
Until 7/30 May Stevens: My Mothers Paintings by May Stevens featuring the artist's birth mother and "spiritual" mother that explore the relationship between the personal and political.
@MAAM
community
6/10 Original Markets
Presents Found Vintage + upcycled clothing and goods pop up market! Many vendors!
@Cambridge Community Center
12PM-5PM All Ages FREE
6/10 + 6/24 The People Clinic: Herbal First Aid Basics Workshop (RSVP Required)
@Democracy Center
10AM All Ages FREE
6/14-6/16 Embrace Ideas Festival Presents 'Here/Present': the art of reclaiming space and time a 3 day Juneteenth celebration that includes keynotes and panel discussions, arts, food, and music -- there will be something for everyone to enjoy as we shine a light on how we can interrupt our zero sum game thinking when it comes to racial justice, and realizing a better Boston for all. Find all the event details at www.embraceideasfestival. org. Multiple locations! All Ages FREE to $25+
6/16 Lucy Parsons Center
Presents Commoning in Cities A game that enables equitable participation and converts community experiences and memory into knowledge that can support the local community action and enable the exchange of experiences between community initiatives in Medellín (Colombia), Boston (USA) and Thessaloniki (Greece). RSVP Required.
www.democracycenter.org
@Democracy Center
3PM-7PM All Ages FREE
6/18 Worcester Punk Rock Flea Market
@Ralphs Rock Diner
12PM-8PM All Ages Free
6/25 Black Owned Boston Outdoor Market returns to the Seaport neighborhood for its fourth year with over 60 vendors. Its eclectic collection and innovative ways to support local businesses owned by traditionally underrepresented groups make it a unique market that stands out from the rest.
@Seaport Common
12PM-6PM All Ages FREE
Queer Women In Music
Boston is a labor of love via The History Project www.historyproject.org which documents Boston’s LGBTQ history. QWIMB seeks to document, archive, promote, love, cherish, and support queer women and the gender expansive community in Boston’s music scene… past and present.
Find out how to support
CALL FOR ART! Art & Mind: I Know Who
I Am! Journeys of Women of Color and Femme-Expressing Creatives virtual event occurring on October 5th, 2023 showcasing artists finding solace and healing in art. This event is created by Sista Creatives Rising (SCR), a project founded by Black, invisibly disabled motherdaughter duo Claire Jones and Amaranthia Sepia. Five artists, national and international, will be chosen for their narrative videos and artworks discussing their experiences around race, gender, disability, sexuality and more. All five artists selected will be compensated a total of $200 each. Any medium is accepted. We especially encourage disabled and/ or queer BIWOC and femmes of color to apply. More info at www.sistacreativesrising. com/art-mind-event-page
CALL FOR PERFORMERS! Are you a local musician, poet, dancer or band? Apply to perform at an upcoming summer AfroDesiaCity event at www.afrodesiacity.com. Deadline to apply is 6/10
APPLY NOW TO Cultural Equity Learning Community: Summer 2023 Cohort a two-unit, 12 session, asynchronous anti-racism course with wrap-around supports open to arts and culture leaders committed to building intersectional racial equity. The 1st unit includes two tracks: one for BIPOC arts leaders: Compassionate Transformation, and one for white arts leaders: Whiteness + Me. Participation in both tracks Register by 7/19. Learn more at www.culturalequitylc.org
opportunity
bostoncompassnewspaper.com/ get-involved Help us make this thing! Amplify new voices! Visit comicsincolor.org to see more great makers!
Extremely Boring
@nilecreatescomix
The
Adventures of Jamal B. Franklin by Nile Hennick
@gabrieljoyyy The Mixx by Zahirah Nur Truth @daartistznt
The Adventures of Aaron & Beatrice by Gabriel Joy Reid
Energy Drink by Coleman Luse @lunchtimecomix
@cagenmiles SEASON 5 PREMIERE! Proud to present the work of...
The Market by Cagen Luse
ART BY MADISON