FINDING SEXUAL LIBERATION IN BOSTON
This month is the 100th issue of Boston’s Sex-Positive Newsletter! If you’re not familiar, it’s a monthly email newsletter aimed at helping build up the sex-positive community here in Boston. Many people misunderstand the point of sex-positivity, seeing it as a fun lifestyle that could get you invited to an orgy. While orgies are all well and good, sexual liberation is about so much more than living an unexamined life of pleasure!
Sexual liberation is about seeing the ways in which free sexual expression and sexual wellness are not accessible to all—and working toward a more sexually just world. Sexual rights, both locally and globally, are a key part of this, from access to safe abortion, to sex worker rights, to increasing the acceptance of diverse sexual desires and fetishes (and so much more!).
I came up with the idea for a local sexpositive email newsletter when I began putting my own sex-positive work online and a bunch of local sex-positive people started
projects and events going on in Boston! I’ve spent years being passionate about this stuff and I’m just finding out about them now?
I wanted to create an easy way for people to get involved in local sex-positive efforts and learning opportunities, and meet other people who share their sex-positive values. I was inspired by how the Boston Compass fosters the alternative/creative community here in Boston (this was 2014, the Compass’ early days of being a single 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper). Thus, Boston’s Sex-Positive Newsletter was born to help you keep up with all the great sexual justice events and projects going on in the area.
Each issue lists 30+ sexuality-related events, including sex education workshops, queer book clubs, polyamorous speed dating, trans support groups, feminist art shows, sexual trauma therapy groups, BDSM skill shares, and so much more. We also include jobs in the sexuality field, cool art, and free sexual wellness resources.
We’ve technically put out over 100 issues (including a few half issues and one ¾ issue), which brings us to our official 100th issue! To celebrate, we’re having a giveaway. The prize: a “queer sex ed saves lives” sticker mailed to you. We’re going to choose 100 winners because this is no small occasion, so you have a good chance of winning this thing. To enter, go to bit.ly/issue-100. You can see all our issues and subscribe at pleasurepie.org. I hope you find what you’re looking for :)
—Nicole
“UNTIL YOU’RE HOME” RESPONDS TO BOSTON’S MIGRANT CRISIS
The housing crisis in Massachusetts has been a pressing issue for far longer than it has been documented—only compounded by the steady influx of migrant families in the last couple of years. For almost a year, there have been hundreds of migrants arriving at Logan Airport and sleeping there overnight. These individuals, as well as those arriving with their families, are escaping economic instability in search of better living situations and opportunities. Their journeys are often arduous and dangerous, and many arrive with only their documentation and the clothes they are wearing. The influx of these migrants led to Boston’s temporary and emergency shelters filling up as quickly as new ones were opened.
In response to our unprecedented migrant family crisis, an organization was born out of an expanded commitment to support unhoused, displaced and families in transition in shelters or temporary housing. For seven years, Kena Drumgo’s passion has been to meet the physical needs of families in shelters stretching from Boston to Fall River as the assistant director for the unhoused at Berea Boston’s Women’s Ministries. Through her work, she provides personal care and household items, coats, and clothing to those in need. In the fall of 2023, her team partnered with Patricia Juba’s nonprofit A Life Worth Living Corp for a coat drive benefiting
six shelters with 350 or more winter coats alone. Her expanded mission to migrant families began early in 2024 when she became aware of the Logan airport crisis, and she is using her powerful voice and presence to continue to make an impact.
Drumgo’s first responder instincts kicked in after she met with the director of the Massachusetts Office of Refugees and Immigrants, offering to mobilize and serve for the cause. She began soliciting targeted donations to address the immediate needs of these families, delivering weekly carloads to the biggest Boston welcome center. Her organization, “Until You’re Home” (UYH) was born and now has several volunteer teams responsible for 15-20 major deliveries to our newly arriving and displaced families over the past five months. She credits this success to her exceptional circle of supporters and the Berea Boston, Sister Circle, and Project Care teams’ generous donations. UYH also guides vulnerable families as they transition from shelters and seek permanent housing in an unforgiving housing market. These families are unintentionally underserved because of a housing crisis that creates overwhelming caseloads for their case managers. UYH stands in the gap.
Article continued on page eight.
Mazzeo of Pleasure Pie
LOCAL NICETIES
A Rundown on NICE, A fest
After weeks of spotting flyers around town, I made my way to NICE, a fest, which took over Davis Square in Somerville from July 25-28. The festival, produced by Get 2 the Gig Boston (the group behind a good amount of your favorite Boston indie shows), featured four stages with over 80 artists and more than 40 vendors in a Small Mart produced popup. Through four days of Grillo’s Pickle rides and copious amounts of Topo Chico, listeners found new favorite bands and snagged tie dye t-shirts.
Described on the website as “extremely local,” NICE, a fest offered a sprawling variety of highlights from Boston’s music scene giving those who haven’t had the chance to deep-dive into local concerts a chance to see where their favorite artists found inspiration. “Music that’s been pushed to the forefront has been formulated in places like this,” said Cheem Vocalist Skye, whose nu-pop sound pulled crowds into the Crystal Ballroom on Sunday.
The festival also gave those who were raised in the scene a chance to shine. Sidebody, who graced the Crystal Ballroom stage Saturday afternoon, described playing the festival as a dream come true. “The Boston music scene is a part of our childhoods. Personally, I never dreamed that I would be part of it…it’s so cool to do something that’s a part of the wildest dreams of a high schooler who grew up on the Green Line,” said Sidebody band member Lena Warnke.
Local was everywhere at NICE, a fest—it’s hard to feel any different when the walk between the Crystal Ballroom, the vendor market, and the Rockwell was full of students heading to internships and families with toddlers enjoying a weekend lunch. The vendor market—hosted in the center of Davis and accessible regardless of tickets— showcased an extensive collection of artists and shops, displaying everything from vintage jewelry to a sculpture of a squonk.
“If you’re someone who does freelance art, unless you’re out there at events tabling your art, the people who are going to buy your art are not going to be in the same community as you,” said Ellie Erhart, a cartoonist and illustrator who was vending at the event. “This is a great way to sell to people who live in the same area as me.”
Any local music scene is intimate, but Boston takes it further. As a former longtime resident of Somerville, I found it hard not to run into familiar places and people around Davis. However, the camaraderie of NICE fest was impossible to ignore. While watching bands float between venues to meet up with the friends they were shouting out during their sets, it was clear that NICE, a fest wasn’t just showcasing some of the best the Boston music scene has to offer—it was highlighting the relationships that make it so great. As Martha Schnee of Sidebody put it, “We want to create that feeling of being with your best friends, because that’s what it is for us.”
JOSIE WAGNER
VISUAL AWARENESS
A Look at Boston’s Live Visuals Scene
It’s tough being a live visuals performer in Boston. I prefer the term “Visualist” over “VJ,” but I think anyone who regularly performs visuals at local shows probably has some good war stories to tell. Boston has a rich video arts history, but as far as the current music scene is concerned, I feel like I’m navigating uncharted territory every time I say I’m here at the gig to run projections. One day I want live visuals to be a part of every show in town, with a robust community of local performers, sideprojects and supergroups—just like that of the music scene. But I think that’s going to take a little while.
To be fair, it’s not the most accessible hobby in the first place. Undeniably, there’s a high financial barrier to even having a visuals rig that’s ready to gig out with. Then, once you do start performing, you’ll quickly realize that there’s not really any established performance or equipment standards for visual acts in the same way that there are for musical ones. Some venues will have existing projectors or audio-visual (AV) systems you can plug into, most others will not. Visualists who want to be fully selfsufficient are required to stock up on even more gear, adding projectors, stands and additional cables to their equipment list and physical footprint.
That’s been my experience, at least. I’m a co-founder of Digital Awareness (DA), an audio-reactive live visuals collective. DA grew out of Allston basement video art playdates with my then-new friend Harley Spring in the fall and winter of 2021. Under Harley’s creative direction, DA has projected analog video art onto screens, stages, and band members’ corneas (sorry!) a lot in the past two years. Last year we averaged one gig per week, this year it’ll probably be a lot closer to two.
creating the DA logo, to working as a show photographer, to editing footage and tour videos for bands like Clamb and Paper Lady that we’ve hit the road with.
Six months in, we were joined by the incredible AV artist and local musician Nate Scaringi. Harley and Nate both play in a lot of bands around town, and in many ways you can see that influence reflected in DA’s structure and workflows. We gig, we tour— DA has given me more incredible moments and showed me more of this country than I ever could have imagined.
Every step of the way has been challenging. DA has experienced issues with not getting paid, credited, or appreciated for our work at times. It’s taken us a few years and a lot of hard work to feel understood and accepted by the scene. Despite everything we’ve accomplished, we still run into these same issues today.
Even something as minor as not getting drink tickets or a comped meal reminds us that our work is viewed by many as being inherently less valuable. The obvious solution here is for Boston’s performing visualists to band together as one unified community. We’re stronger together, we can share information and spread familiarity with our medium.
But the visual artist scene is fractured—it feels like each music scene has its own insulated community of visual artists. There are so many visualists in the electronic and rave scenes that I haven’t met yet, and I wonder what problems they’re currently facing.
So that’s the point of this column—join me next time as I begin a journey of interviewing local visualists about their slice of the scene. Together we can increase Boston’s Visual Awareness!
Abbey Franz has provided essential support from the start—everything from
SURVEIL AND CONTROL
The Boston Regional Intelligence Center
Fusion centers are intergovernmental information hubs created by the Department of Homeland Security, marketed as a structural solution to the failure of federal agencies to share and analyze intelligence prior to 9/11. Initially presented as a systematic counterterrorism effort between state, local, federal and private agencies, these centers have received billions of dollars of federal funds, with little evidence to prove their success in preventing terror attacks. Their operations have rapidly expanded to collecting data on “all crimes and hazards,” as per the “Fusion Center Guidelines” published by the US Department of Justice. This broad definition has empowered police and government agencies to conduct widespread, indiscriminate and unconstitutional surveillance of unprotected classes.
There are 80 fusion centers that comprise the US national network, including the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, or BRIC, operating since 2005. In 2023, BRIC received an additional 3.4 million dollars in funding from the city of Boston. The BRIC is not only known to have a local gang database, but also has a record of sharing information about Boston public school students to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and has used Geofeedia social media monitoring software to target Black Lives Matter activism and Muslim communities.
The declaration of a “War and Terror,” a “War on Drugs,” and a “War on Cops” allows the guise of a neverending national security crisis to fuel the perceived need for these fusion centers. Their function is informed by a tenant of policing itself: the collection of data and thereby control of “the other.” Modern US policing was created to capture escaped enslaved people and this tenant of protecting property and wealth along racial lines still remains today. In his treatise A World Without Police, Geo Maher writes that “[The police] claim to provide security from the ravages of capitalist inequality, while in reality they only reinforce and deepen these inequalities.” The police operate under the masquerade to protect and serve but in fact
are the “lawful” and violent enactors of the project of white supremacy.
Fusion centers facilitate the unmitigated surveillance of Muslim and Arab communities, house “gang databases” created through racially-biased predictive policing software like Palantir Technologies’ Gotham, empower ICE and Border Patrol to target immigrants, and monitor and aid in the suppression of protest movements such as Occupy and Black Lives Matter through social media monitoring and the targeting of free speech. The data collected in these fusion centers and managed by police is often withheld from the public record with little to no commitment to transparency. The National Lawyers Guild of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit this year against the Boston Police Department and the BRIC for refusing to release files regarding the Patriot Front march in July of 2022. Despite numerous social media posts, BPD initially claimed they were not aware prior to the rally, later backtracking. The lack of police response enabled a white supremacist vigilante organization to assault counter protesters and maintain a racially threatening presence in the streets of Boston.
A 2006 intelligence assessment by the FBI itself revealed an internal concern about the infiltration of white supremacists in law enforcement. This is a moot point to those who have and continue to live through the violent legacy of policing—an inherently racist system that cannot be absolved through the targeting of bad actors “infiltrating” their ranks. Maher laments, “If the policing of imperial power has developed in conjunction with the domestic policing of colonized and former enslaved populations, the police today stand as a concrete interface point with settler colonial projects like Israel and counterinsurgency efforts worldwide, policing the boundaries of wealth and whiteness on a global scale.” The project of white supremacy is inherent to police surveillance, and fusion centers like the BRIC provide an undetectable and omnipresent force for control.
----------------------------------------------------- GRACE RAIH
MASSACHUSETTS MINUTE
Sundry. Derived from Middle English, sundry is a noun that is officially defined by Oxford Languages as meaning “various items not important enough to be mentioned individually.” Approximately two weeks ago, a secondary definition of this word made an official appearance: “the debut album by New England music collective CLUB INDGO.”
Pieced together by artists ranging from across New England, CLUB INDGO is an unbelievably talented group of creatives who first started releasing music back in 2022. What initially began as a collaboration between the musical conglomerate iLL Addicts and a singer/songwriter named Sança has now blossomed into a fullyformed posse of creatives that are crafting some of the most addictive music that this region of the country has to offer. CLUB INDGO now sits at a grand total of seven members, including Sança, ProSwervez, Juelz, ALI, Dochee, Buu, and Dalvin Lopes.
Following a persistent few years of growth and camaraderie, CLUB INDGO have recently stepped into the limelight of the Massachusetts music scene following the release of their debut album.
Furnished with a total of seven songs and features from Connis and Cicatriz, Sundry rounds out as a delectable cut of music that has roots in R&B, House, Hip-Hop, Electronic, and Alternative music. Though many artists across the world make the claim that their sound is pushing the creative envelope, seldom advance quite as close to doing so as CLUB INDGO. Whether a more elevated track like “Beside Me” or a softer offering like “Takin Me Home (24Hrs),” the New England collective is dedicated to creating the music that they want to make and nothing more or less.
What is particularly enjoyable about this release is the unwillingness to let any one creative shine. This, of course, stems from the title of the project, however it becomes truly apparent across each song. CLUB INDGO’s superpower is their ability to fuse their artistic talents into a single stream of musical goodness, and—recognizing this—they created a body of work that fully encompasses this characteristic. The entirety of Sundry is the breath of fresh air that you didn’t know you needed. ------------------------------------------------ SHAMUS HILL
CLUB INDGO UnveilS Debut
music & audio
8/3 4th Wall Presents: Ronnie Riggles, ZekeUltra, Kayana, Swooli, & Bobby Woody w/ visuals by: Digital Awareness | Doors 9PM | Music 9:30PM @ The Capitol Theatre 9pm 18+ $10
8/3 Almost Lana, The Lana Del Rey Experience Leading the charge is none other than the indomitable Niki Luparelli, a local luminary whose talents defy categorization. Accompanied by the 11-piece Born to Die Orchestra, guiding you through the shadowy, moonlit landscapes of Lana’s discography @ The Capitol Theatre 8pm-10pm All Ages $30
8/3 Cuck x The Pelvic Floor presents PISSMAS Hotdog eating / outdoor market / free pizza / performance art / clowns / drag / PBR keg / child size ball pit / and maybe more! 2pm festivities 5pm music @ Spontaneous Celebrations 2pm 18+ $15
8/4 Words Speak Life presents Nay Speaks Special performance by Kei! @ Middle East Downstairs 7pm-10pm @nay_speaks
8/6 Jonny Kosmo, Owsley's Owls, Bong Wish @ O'Briens Pub 8pm 21+ $15
8/9 Robber Robber, Clifford, Prewn w/ visuals by: Digital Awareness | Doors 9PM | Music
9:30PM @ The Capitol Theatre 18+ $10 advance $12 day of
8/9 The 4th Wall presents Clifford, Robber Robber, Prewn w/ visuals by Digital Awareness @ The Capitol Theatre 9pm All Ages $12
8/10 4th Wall Presents: Battlemode, Vices Inc., Lions & Lavender, & Plague Dad w/ visuals by: BADWARE. Popup Arcade by: Super Party Bros. Doors 9PM | Music 9:30PM @ The Capitol Theatre 9pm 18+ $10 adv $12 day of
8/10 All4u Boston presents: Charli party charli party and its the same but its august 10 at arts at the armory but its not… @ Warehouse XI 8pm $10
8/13 Battlemode, Quantum Moon, Zach Kaas's Koji Kompote Band A night of classic video game music and original chiptunes! @ Cantab Lounge 8pm-11pm 21+ FREE
8/16 Groan Man, Jeff Unfortunately, Noah Britton Theme is Sad Yeehaw @ Morts Resort Somerville (dm @groanman617 for address) @ 7pm-10pm All Ages $10
8/17 Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds Head to Medford and dress to impress for the living legend Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds! Supported by Lupo Cittã and Red Herrings @ Deep Cuts 7pm $20
8/21 K.O. Queen, Avatareden, Pink Navel, Roaches
@ Midway Cafe 7:30pm 21+ $10
Thru 8/30 Summer Concerts at Boston Public Library
Come by on Wednesdays at 6pm and Fridays at 12:30pm (June to August) to hear a wide variety of Berklee performers in the Library’s Courtyard @ Boston Public Library
Freestyle Clinic Test your cypher skills with this rap community, every last
Sunday of the month @ The Middle East 7pm 21+
Wally's Jazz Club Every Night! At Wally’s, they have live music 365 days a year! They feature three different bands a night, one at 5pm, one at 7pm, and one at 9pm. The first set is typically a jam session and the second and third sets have different music themes depending on the day of the week: Monday: Blues. Tuesday: Funk, Wednesday: Funk, Thursday: Latin Jazz Salsa, Friday: Jazz, Saturday: Jazz, Sunday: Funk. Come vibe at one of the oldest family owned and operated jazz clubs in existence!
Gentle People Podcast Enjoy a new podcast by local artist, Lilypad booker, and founder of the Mythological Meditation Society Jesse Gallagher
Opens 8/2 Sing Sing shows how art can save us, as Domingo Coleman plays an innocent, incarcerated man who finds salvation by joining a theater group within prison @Coolidge @Kendall Sq Cinema @AMC
Thru 8/4 Boston French Film Festival wraps up with local legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s new film Menus Plaisirs – Les Troigros on 8/3 and Marion Cotillard in Little Girl Blue on 8/4 @ Museum of Fine Art Boston $15 (includes museum admission)
8/4 Cat Video Fest The world's #1 cat video festival is back with screenings in theaters across the USA and around the world starting August 2024! Proceeds go to cas in need @ Coolidge Corner Theater 2pm-4pm $18.25
Opens 8/9 Burdens of a Dream Arguably the greatest ever documentary on the making of a film, Burden of Dreams gets a 4K restoration, showcasing Werner Herzog’s intense 4 year struggle to make his epic film Fitzcarraldo. Cinephiles unite @ Coolidge $15.50
8/9 to 8/11
Three Hitchcock
Double Features dominate the auteur’s birthday weekend. If you only see one make it Vertigo and North by Northwest on 8/10 @ Brattle $18 double feature
8/15 Double Feature: Falling Down & Do the Right Thing The summer heat causes tensions to boil over in this brilliant double feature @ Brattle $18 double feature
8/17 Monty Python A comedy classic always worth a rewatch, Monty Python and the Holy Grail stars @ Coolidge After Midnight 11:59pm $15.50
8/18 Beau Travail Claire Denis’ visually stunning debut hypnotizes and startles you @ Coolidge 7pm
8/22 THIS IS NEW TONE follows the 2023 Bad Time Records tour, featuring 17 live performances from bands like Catbite, We Are The Union, Kill Lincoln and more from across the tour, combined with behind the scenes footage and interviews that seek to answer the question: "What exactly is New Tone”? @ The Capitol Theatre 7pm-9pm All Ages 20
Thru 8/22 Throwback Thursdays 8/1: E.T. | 8/8: Wet Hot American Summer | 8/15: Moonrise Kingdom | 8/22: Mamma Mia! All at 7:30pm @ The Capitol Theatre All Ages $13
8/26 Disasterpiece Theatre is a monthly Z-movie night where weirdos from all walks of life gather to make fun of the worst films ever found on VHS, MST3K style. Come early for the pre-show tape swap, or just bring your friends (or enemies!) with you to eviscerate trash tapes over cold brews in a real live movie theater! Held every last Monday at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington, and it's totally free! No tickets required. 21+. Pre show tape swap 6:30-7pm. Screening at 7pm. @ The Capitol Theatre 7pm-9pm 21+ FREE
8/27 Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick's final masterpiece, Eyes Wide Shut makes a rare big screen appearance @ Kendall Sq Cinema
8/29 Double Feature: Talented Mr. Ripley & Purple Noon Saltburn’s more stylish European predecessors go back to back @ The Brattle $18 (for both)
Thru 8/4 The Great Gatsby The most famous, fabulous and tragic tale of the American Dream goes from book to film to musical in the American Repertory Theater’s Gatsby @ Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square AmericanRepertoryTheater. org $65+ (Call 617.547.8300 to take advantage of their Take Five promotion. Tix are only $5!)
Thru 8/4 Shakespeare on the Common Pack a picnic and head to this year’s Shakespeare on the Common for The Winter's Tale, an epic story of jealousy and hope starring some of Boston’s best talent! @ Boston Common 8pm FREE
Thru 8/10 Eliana Pipes' new play HOOPS celebrates the history of Black, Latine, and Indigenous culture via the hoop earring and all it symbolizes @ The Strand Theatre FREE with Pay-What-You-Want tickets
8/15 Men in Comedy presents: Comedy Killerz Divas! There's been a murder (the comedy kind haha). Come find out who will murder and who will be murdered @ Widowmaker Brewing Company (Brighton) 8pm-10:30pm $12
Feel It Speak It Open Mic You can now find this community open mic at the Civic Pavilion on the Congress St side of Boston City Hall Plaza on every 2nd Sunday of the month! Visit @feelit_speakit on Instagram for more details.
8/3 Rat City Arts Festival 2024 is a grassroots celebration of the diverse artists who live, work, and perform in Allston-Brighton and Boston. Join us for a free festival celebrating local music, art, and all things Rat City! @ Aeronaut Allston 3pm-10pm FREE
8/3 Future Fest MF Dynamics and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture are collaborating to transform City Hall Plaza into an interactive playground of the future. Featuring multi-sensory live performances, participatory light art, and good vibes, the plaza will be activated by a cohort of incredible multidisciplinary regional artists. @ Boston City Hall 8pm-11pm All Ages FREE
8/3 Black Cotton Club Summer Jam Session A jam session featuring YOU. Welcome to our summer series! Come share your song, poems, bars, dance moves and shake off your week!
@ Shirley-Eustis House 7pm-10pm FREE @blackcottonclub
Opens 8/4 Somerville Flea opens for their 12th season in the heart of Davis Sq. Shop locals for 2nd hand vintage & vinyl @52 Holland St 10am-4pm FREE
8/9 LoudMindsTV presents Loud Experience Dive into a curated selection of fire art, fresh threads, and exclusive merch. Chop it up with industry heavyweights, social lights, and fellow Loud Minds. Vibe out to the chunes, munch on some light snacks, and chill in our laid-back atmosphere. RSVP at LoundMindsTV on Facebook for location. @ 7pm-11pm $25 @loudmindstv
8/10 Mandi's Boston presents Style Revival Adult Clothing, Accessories + Housewares Swap! Live tailoring, Drop-in Mending Circle, Drop-in Jewelry Hospital, Textile, shoe + bag recycling @ Spontaneous Celebrations 12pm-4pm All Ages $5
8/11 Show & Tell Boston present Event #7 Sip, converse & network! Ft. Da Gruvement @ 195 Dudley St., Roxbury @ 5pm-10pm @showandtellboston
8/28 Somerville Square Dance
Live string band music by Hell & scissors, and calling by expert caller Erica Weiss. Dance lesson at 7:30pm. @ Warehouse XI 8pm-11pm All Ages $10
Thru 8/20 Summer Mindfulness
Series Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and High Frequency Academy Ltd. present this 5-week series for survivors to develop and implement mindfulness practices as a means to cultivate stress reduction, self-awareness and peace in their lives. Tuesdays from 6-7:30pm @ UU Urban Ministry 6pm All Ages FREE
Thru 8/24 Gilman Park
Marketplace Small Mart and Winter Hill Brewing bring you the Gilman Park Marketplace, which will take place every other Saturday starting 6/15 through 8/24. We will be rounding up the raddest makers, artisans, and vintage vendors while Winter Hill will be serving up tasty libations to enjoy on a summer’s day! Vendor Market will run 12pm-6pm; Beer Garden will run 12pm-8pm @ Space next to Gilman Square T Stop @ All Ages
Thru 9/1 FOUND presents: BLOCK PARTY Join us every Saturday from 12pm to 5pm (starting June 22nd) this summer at the FOUND in Central Square block party! To celebrate the extension of our two storefronts until the end of 2024, we’re blocking off Columbia Street (from Main Street to Bishop Allen drive) and throwing a block party all summer long! Enjoy food and beverages from local establishments with live music giving you a summer worthy soundtrack. @ 12pm-5pm
Thru 9/2
The Boston Parks
Fitness Series Free All-Levels Bootcamp every Saturday at different parks from May 7 - Sept 2. All are welcome! For more information and cancellations, check FB and Twitter at @bostonparksdept and @healthyboston @ 9am All Ages FREE
Thru 9/28 Family and Friends
Living Healthy Walking Group
FFLH is currently in their 10th season walking. They meet at the Franklin Park Golf CourseClubhouse located on 1 Circuit Dr, Dorchester, MA on Saturday mornings at 9am and walking starts at 9:15pm. This is a great way for people to get fit and build connections with others in the Greater Boston area.
Print Ain't Dead Did you know that Print Ain’t Dead is one of only two Black-owned and run book spaces in the Greater Boston area? They sell new and used books written by POC at low, accessible prices and keep an ongoing archive that documents Black life. Join them on Saturdays and Sundays from 11-4 at their reading room at 1476 River St. in Hyde Park!
What's Happening Boston Follow for fun things to do in Boston! Use this resource to plan your week.
Check their IG stories every day for unique events #bostonhapps #blackowned @whatshappening_boston
Boston Liberation Center Open
Hours The Boston Liberation Center is a socialist, working class community center located right in the heart of Roxbury. Stop by to learn more about the work of the center and talk with the organizers, browse the community library, get some work done or just hang out! Tues & Thurs 4-8pm, Fri 1-6pm, Saturdays 10-4pm.
Artspark is a community-powered event series based in the greater Boston area. Through dynamic live music events and community classes, Artspark creates a pipeline for artists and creative professionals to build success at all stages of their career. We aim to provide accessible music programming that takes the power and privilege out of the creative arts. Follow them at @artsparkboston
opportunities
Resist! Rapid Response Grants
Resist offers $1,000 Rapid Response grants to better meet the needs of frontline groups and organizations. This grant is decided on by Resist staff and generally has a one week turn around. Learn more and apply at https://resist. org/grants/
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grants Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. To meet artists’ last-minute needs in a timely manner, FCA’s Emergency Grants panel meets monthly to review requests. Each month FCA receives an average of 95 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 12-18 grants. Grants range in amount from $500 to $3,000, and the average grant is now $1,900. Applications are rolling. Learn more and apply at https://www. foundationforcontemporaryarts. org/grants/emergency-grants/
The Brooks and Joan Fortune Family Foundation BJFF primarily provides funds to support education, art, and outreach programs and projects. In general, the foundation desires to support specific activities that result in a defined outcome rather than general operating funds or fundraising campaigns. Funding requests between $1,000 and $10,000 will receive greater consideration. Deadline is rolling; learn more and apply at www. fortunefamilyfoundation.org/ application-process.
Music Drives Us strives to accomplish its mission to inspire New England’s musicians of tomorrow by supporting their music opportunities today by offering Instrument, Performance, and Organizational grants. Deadlines on each of these grants are rolling. Learn more and apply at https://www.musicdrivesus.org
National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects provides expansive funding opportunities to strengthen the nation’s arts and cultural ecosystem. Grants are available for arts projects in a wide variety of artistic disciplines. Multiple grant rounds offered in 2024. Learn more and apply at https://www.arts.gov/grants/grantsfor-arts-projects
Dunamis Boston Resource
Roundup A thorough list of grants, jobs, events, opportunities and
video & film
Boston’s Sex-Positive Newsletter aims to make it easier for people to get involved in local sex-positive efforts, learning opportunities, and community. It is put out by Pleasure Pie, a Boston-based sexual justice organization that makes zines as alternative sex education materials. To sign up for the free newsletter, visit http://eepurl.com/4u-qP
8/3 EMA Fund Birthday Bash
Come celebrate with the EMA Fund team on a quarter-century of making abortion and body autonomy accessible to those who need it! There will be live music, a drag performance, information on EMA Fund's work, and our collab beer flowing. @ Lamplighter Brewing Company (Cambridge) @ 4pm-8pm 21+ $15
8/6 August Lunch-N-Learn: Engaging Roleplaying Scenarios in Sex Ed: Enhancing Communication and Empathy
Discover the power of role playing scenarios in sexual education lessons in this interactive session. This workshop will explore how roleplaying can enhance teens' communication skills, empathy, and understanding. Learn to design realistic and engaging scenarios, manage group dynamics, and create a supportive environment where students can practice critical conversations. Register for the virtual session at https://shorturl.at/ lyIOR. @ 1pm-1:30pm FREE
8/6 Rope 101, Class 3 This 4-class series will start you on your journey with the tools to explore rope confidently and safely. Learn the basic building blocks of ties as selfties, no partner required (though generally encouraged). @ Bondage N Boston in Copley Square @ 7pm-9pm $25
8/6 Smut Slam A sex-positive storytelling night featuring true sexy, embarrassing, or otherwise captivatingly sex-positive stories. A panel of judges will be on hand to evaluate the stories and bestow the top three Slammers with a sack of sexy swag from Good Vibrations. @ Arts at the Armory 7:30pm9:30pm $10 suggested donation
8/7 Book Bi Book: A Bisexual Book Club reads Greedy Notes From a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much by Jen Winston. Join the BPL for their book club geared towards members of the bi+ community.
question: what would happen if members of marginalized groups stopped making themselves smaller? @ Boston Public Library (BPL) 6:30pm-7:30pm
8/11 Queer Boston Walking Tour Queer in Cannabis (@ queer.in.cannabis) and Lavender Education have teamed up to create an exciting and HIGHly queer cannabis walking tour. Each tour not only highlights stops at local queer and minority-owned businesses, but also includes a history-rich exploration of downtown Boston’s LGBTQ+ historic sites and stories. @ 6pm-8pm 21+ $20
8/14 LGBTQIA+ Speed-Friending
Skip the Small Talk is here with an evening of queer friends you haven’t met yet! There will be structure and engaging discussion prompts to help you get right to the conversations you are actually interested in having. @ Trident Booksellers & Cafe 7pm-9pm $18.50
8/15 Flower Power: Collage Experience Learn various techniques to create your unique artwork, enjoy tunes chosen by our workshop participants to enhance your creative vibes, create a beautiful one-of-a-kind collage to celebrate community, and learn a bit about the queer history of flowers and the queer history of cannabis from the facilitators. @ Yamba Market 6pm-8pm 21+ $20
8/16 Let's Talk... Sexual Health Show and Tell Boston is shining a light on sex and health disparities in Boston’s Black and Brown communities. Experts from Boston Medical Center will weigh in about safe sex practices, STDs, pregnancy, and more. @ 195 Dudley Street in Roxbury @ 1pm-3pm
8/22 Sexennial: A Sex-Positive Variety Show Join us for a showcase of Boston's sex-positive talent in honor of Boston's SexPositive Newsletter's 100th issue AND Pleasure Pie’s 10th birthday! Our first sexennial will be a night of fast-paced performances and talks that celebrate sexual liberation. Think of it like if the newsletter were condensed into one night! Performances will promote sexual justice for all, including women, queer and trans folks, kinky and nonmonogamous folks, sex workers, folks who have experienced sexual trauma and repression, and more. Hosted by Pleasure Pie! @ Cambridge Foundry 7pm9:30pm
8/23 Ignite the Spark: The Art of Wax and Electro Play with Jamie Joy Join certified sex educator Jamie Joy for a hot and electrifying journey as we delve into the intriguing realms of wax and electro play.
@ Good Vibrations Brookline @ 6pm-7:30pm $20
8/23 The Lilac Players Present a Summer Cabaret A cabaretstyle open mic with a focus on LGBTQIA+ and feminist musical theater. Come to listen, applaud, and perform! @ Brookline Booksmith 7pm-8:30pm FREE
8/24 We Make Noise Festival A music and arts festival celebrating women and gender-expansive artists in Boston, featuring live music performances by local musicians and DJs, a visual art gallery showcasing the work of diverse artists, digital interactions exploring feminism and activism, and local vendors. @ Downtown Crossing @ 12pm-8pm FREE
BOSTON FIGURATIVE ART CENTER
The BFAC is an “art gym” and shared studio space located in Union Square, Somerville. Our sunny, expansive studio is open daily, 11am-11pm, for people to use freely, whether for their personal artwork, co-working, or just to hang out. Our foundation is drawing and painting the human figure, but we function as a space open to all creative pursuits, not just visual arts. Along with our regular figure drawing sessions and painting/drawing workshops, we’ve also hosted literary readings, film nights, yoga and sound meditation, music events, and more. Full access to the space and our other offerings are available for just $75-$150 per month, so ditch your private studio or your bedroom for a community art making space. We offer student pricing as well. Come by for a free tour any time! Address: 285 Washington St, Somerville MA Website: BostonFAC.com Instagram: @bostonfigurecenter Email: draw@bostonfac.com
8/9 BFAC Potluck and Mixer
The BFAC monthly potluck mixer is a great chance to get to know our community and meet other creative people in the Somerville area! This is a free event for all, so bring your friends. Make crafts, play boardgames, maybe even sing some karaoke... who knows where the night will take us! Bringing a potluck item is optional; we encourage you to sign up on our website if you are able to, but no pressure! @ Boston Figurative Art Center 7pm-10pm FREE
8/10 Olympics Day Celebrate the Olympic games at the BFAC with some athlete-themed figure drawing, a pickleball tournament, and an ongoing watch party streaming the events of the day, including Artistic Swimming and Beach Volleyball! Full schedule and pickleball draft sign-up on our website! @ Boston Figurative Art Center 12pm-6pm
8/23 Paint & Sip Join BFAC for a night of guided painting and wine! If you haven’t heard of a “Paint and Sip,” it’s basically a Bob-Ross-style painting lesson. We will all be painting the same beginner-friendly picture, and the teacher will guide you through, step by step. Follow along exactly, or add your own twist as you go. It will be so easy you can even do it a little tipsy! (but not if you drove!) It’s a great time for non-painters and professional artists alike. Just a fun, low-stakes, creative activity to do with your friends (or a great way to make new ones!) Supplies included. Register online by 8/22. @ Boston Figurative Art Center 7pm-9pm
boards, newsprint, and pencils for our group to draw 2 different models (in bathing suits). Enjoy this fun summer-themed figure drawing session with other BFAC members, or bring friends who aren’t members (yet!). After the live-model-drawing part of the day, paint some seascapes, or just enjoy the company of the rest of the group and take a dip in the ocean. Location disclosed after registering. Carpool available – details explained in the registration link! Register online by 8/24. @ Boston Figurative Art Center 11pm-6pm
8/25 Queer Affinity Yoga On the last Sunday of every month, join Sophie Lyons (she/her) and Lakshmi Haferman (she/her) at the BFAC for a community-lead all-levels yoga and meditation offering for the queer community. This practice will start with a meditation lead by Lakshmi, an open-level trauma informed Asana (movement) practice lead by Sophie, and end with co-lead community time to recenter and connect about the many dynamics and intersections of queerness. @ Boston Figurative Art Center 9:30am-11am
month. This month’s book begs the
8/21 Summer Wellness: Art & Self-Care for Survivors These workshops are centered around art and self-care. Expect to learn self-care practices, like guided meditations, and to create art through drawing, coloring, painting with watercolors, and mixed media. You will not be asked to share personal experiences. @BARCC Office (Cambridge) @ 6pm-7:15pm FREE
8/27 Poly Bi & Pan SpeedDating A non-monogamous speed dating event! Guidelines and conversational prompts will be provided by organizers to assist in connecting with each other. @ Trident Booksellers & Cafe 7pm-9pm 21+ $35
8/25 BFAC Beach Day Join us for a day of relaxation, figure drawing, and plein air in the sand. We will provide snacks, drawing
8/29 Book Club: Experiments in Imagining Otherwise Join BFAC’s debut book club meeting! Our first book will be Experiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola Olufemi. We will be discussing the whole book, so come having read to the end, or expect spoilers! This will be a great opportunity to connect with others in a peaceful, creative space. We will facilitate book sharing as requested. Indicate your interest when you sign up and we can connect you with other readers to share copies of the book. @ Boston Figurative Art Center 5pm-7pm
Suffering For Your Art by Donna Martinez @
The Mass by Maya Escobar
So You Make Comics? by Eva Carrillo
YAMB by Bithiah Holton
@bithiahsart
Catalina's Transit Dispatches by Catalina Rufin
@fairywarriorcat '
“UNTIL YOU’RE HOME”
RESPONDS TO BOSTON’S MIGRANT CRISIS
Continued from page one. Back at Logan, employees accommodated migrant families as their numbers grew in 2023 with cots used for stranded passengers and bought the newcomers pizza when they hadn’t eaten for days. Migrants filled the Emergency Departments (ED) at Boston Medical Center, Children’s Hospital and neighboring shelters—which were already overflowing. After a night with 130 people sleeping in their ED, Boston Medical Center issued cab vouchers and told the families they would have to seek shelter elsewhere. In response to shelters at capacity, the Commonwealth contracted with Massport for families to sleep in a designated area of Logan’s Terminal E overnight and then be shuttled away in the morning to one of two Boston area welcome centers and return in the evening to be sheltered overnight again. When families arrive at the Quincy Welcome Center, each individual is recorded, they meet with case managers, are processed for services needed, take showers and receive three culturally-appropriate meals a day, as well as personal care items sourced by staff or community organizations.
On July 9, 2024, Governor Healey closed the Terminal E shelter area that had been open since July 11, 2023. The state had reached the 7,500 shelter cap she set months earlier, and a delegation was sent to Mexico to declare the state could no longer shelter new arrivals. Back in Massachusetts, state officials announced that if migrant families were coming to the state, they needed to have a housing plan already in place. With an estimated $56.1 billion budget and $853 million of that spent on housing, Massachusetts’ resources were exhausted. President Biden’s initiative added to the influx. It allowed for relatives of migrant families already in the US to sign for them to immigrate but never addressed the federal funding governors like Healey requested.
there has also been understandable concern for the continued need to shelter our unhoused and displaced local families. Both demographics face one of the most expensive housing markets, but there are many resources that local residents in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, and surrounding communities don’t take advantage of because they’re unaware of them or don’t know how to access them.
Responding in real time to unfolding needs, UYH provides translators to assist and support non-English speaking families, referrals to ESL classes, and helps residents navigate the housing market and apply for housing and assistance programs. The organization also refers them to community and legal immigration resources; sources childcare; assists with emergency food shopping and pantry deliveries; upgrades their resumes; sources household items, clothing and furniture; and is expanding their services to meet their needs.
MEET THE ARTIST GEORGIA
Georgia Moore was born in Austin, Texas during the golden age of vegetarianism. After moving to the Boston area in 2018 to pursue degrees in world literature and visual art, their interests have merged into both large and small scale artistic projects based on themes of literature, literacy, and liberation. When they’re not drawing, they are working as a librarian-in-training, DJing at Medford’s own 91.5 FM WMFO radio, baking for large groups of friends and neighbors, or enjoying a summer’s rain on the porch. If you ask nicely, they might make a poster for your next gig. You can see more of their work at allcapsgeorgia.com and @allcapsgeorgia on Instagram.
GEORGIA MOORE
In an interview with MassLive, Jeffrey Thielman, President and CEO of the International Institute of New England, a migrant resettlement program, corroborated the need for funds. “We don’t have…enough federal money,” he said, adding that it was “a federal problem that we can’t solve at the state level.”
The central UYH mission is to receive transitioning families with warmth, dignity and compassion and provide them with holistic support until they’re home. UYH actively responds to families’ needs seven days a week and operates on donations from people like you. Their website is temporarily down as they switch hosts, so please connect with Kena at: untilyourehome@gmail. com until they relaunch. UYH is completely donor-funded, so if you are able, they encourage donations (no amount is too large or too small) at https://cash.app/$UntilYoureHome. If you need professional headshots, portrait and editorial photographer, Valerie Staja Anselme is hosting an UYH fundraiser, Headshots For a Cause event July 28th and August 4th (visit and book at: https://www.anselmestudios.com/h4ac). Future events and expanded services are in the works, and they have yet to apply for their 501c3!
NEW LIT JOURNAL
PUBLISHES BOSTON-INSPIRED ART AND STORIES
What if you could capture the essence of Greater Boston in a 6” x 9” book, small enough to fit in a tote bag, pretty enough to keep on your coffee table, and strange enough to change the way you think about this corner of the world? The Quinobequin Review (the Q), which is named after the Indigenous Massachusett word for the Charles River, hopes to do just this. Part literary journal, part field guide, and part artbook, the Q is a seasonal collection of Boston-inspired art and stories.
and pilgrimages. But most of us lack this kind of awareness about our connection to the landscape.”
While the spotlight has been on the influx and the need to shelter migrant families,
UNTIL YOU'RE HOME
The Q’s founding editor, Abbey Cahill, became interested in how people relate to physical spaces through her work in climate consulting: “We are profoundly shaped by where we live,” she wrote in the inaugural issue of the Q. “I am talking about the formation of culture, memory, and identity, but I am also speaking literally, of the way that our bodies encode the places we know best. I will never forget learning that there are actual pathways made of neurons in our brains (called entorhinal grid cells) that bend themselves into tiny representations of our childhood homes and daily commutes. We are spatial animals, made to understand the world by moving through it. Indigenous cultures have known this for millennia, recording important knowledge through place-names
Everything in the Q is inspired by a specific place within the Charles River Watershed. This kind of place-based content is a call back to the physical in a world that is always online. It inspires better stewardship in a rapidly changing landscape. It helps to preserve local culture in an era of mass globalization. And it is truly world-expanding; it is a reminder that one place can mean so many things to so many different people.
The first three issues of the Q took readers to a pub in Allston, a bookstore in Fields Corner, a graveyard in Dedham, a classroom in Waltham, an art exhibit at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a stone wall in Dover, a riverbank in Cambridge, a winter walk across the Evelyn Moakley Bridge, and a hike through 27 miles of urban trails.
The fourth issue (Fall 2024 / Winter 2025) will hit book stores next month! You can learn more about the journal, submit your work, and pick up a copy of the latest issue at qreview.squarespace.com and on Instagram @quinobequinreview.