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Neighborhood Arts Residencies
Celebrity Series continued Neighborhood Arts’ commitment to youth development programming by offering 40 digital youth development workshops engaging 798 young people and employing twelve artists in the 2020/21 season.
HIGHLIGHTS
A digital Boston Stringfest took place in January 2021 in partnership with Castle of our Skins, an artist collective dedicated to advancing Black artistry through music. Students from City Strings United, Boston Citywide String Orchestra, and Boston String Academy joined Castle of our Skins for Zoom workshops focused around works by composers of color, including a grand finale world premiere of composer Jessica Mays’ Anthem for Go.
Fabiola Méndez led an interactive Zoom concert streamed live from Puerto Rico for students at Boston Community Leadership Academy. This was in addition to several Neighborhood Arts artist collaborations to provide family-friendly concerts in the early evening to students and families from Bates Elementary School, Hurley K-8 School, and Sumner Elementary School.
Five digital Neighborhood Arts concerts were performed for residents of the Dorchesterbased Boston Home, a residential facility that serves adults with advanced multiple sclerosis and other progressive neurological disorders, to ease the social isolation caused by the pandemic. These were part of seventeen digital workshops and events with community partners not serving youth.
NEIGHBORHOOD ARTS ACTIVITIES INCLUDED RESIDENCIES WITH LOCAL ARTISTS:
• Devin Ferreira in a songwriting residency with the Mattapan Teen Center
• Hub New Music in two musical storytelling residencies with the Quincy Lower School
Vocalise Choir for a Boston Home performance
Vocalise Choir for a recorded outdoor performance
3 way residency with: Boston City Singers Vocalise choir, sound and installation artist Ryan Edwards, and BU Assistant Professor of Movement Yo-El Cassell ⊲
