AN INDEPENDENT ARTS & CULTURE GUIDE
The Lucky Jungle
The Lucky Jungle is the brainchild of Carly Sanker, a local artist who stumbled upon this serendipitous storefront on Broadway in the heart of Central square. Her vision was clear: to create a spot for artists, musicians and performers of all types- an artist co-op that would provide job opportunities, classes, workshops and meetups for all walks of life. Birthed during the pandemic, TLJ sells plants and antiques and showcases original artwork and prints by local artists who you can meet at our artist networking night on Thursdays. The vibrant murals on the walls are welcoming and inviting, and the richness of the space is truly one-of-a-kind. In the face of rapid development in Central Square, the Lucky Jungle is a rare safe-haven for artists that thrives on all of the support they’ve received from the community. Stop by to peep the local artists on display, buy a unique print or plant, or attend a workshop or event. You can also rent out the space to host a party or gathering of your choice. TLJ is also in the process of acquiring a music license to host music events and open mics so stay posted! All of the proceeds go back to keeping TLJ alive and directly into artists’ pockets. You can find The Lucky Jungle on instagram (@theluckyjungle) and web (www.theluckyjungle.com). —Simone Neme
Current rotation of weekly events (check the IG and website for updates):
A New Space for Art, Music and Plants!
S NOTE FROM THE CREW
Tues: Cambridge City Growers Seed Swap 7-9:30pm Weds: Hump Day Meditation 5:30-6:30pm Thurs: Artist Networking meetup 6pm
Hola, aloha, hello!It’s your favorite queer Mexican artist and architect, Cris, Cristina, or CRS if you’ve seen my stickers on the street. I thrive and survive through means of being creative. My work ranges from: a committed architecture career, as I dream of building and designing projects that will help humanity, personal mixed media pieces, because collecting memories and gluing them on vintage paper serves as my best therapy, and custom accessories (I’ve found that wearing my art is my best publicity). I also craft handmade letters and gifts since there’s no better feeling than giving your art to people you love. Finally, I create public and urban art, as adventuring around the globe and leaving my mark brings me joy. Traveling is the best way to learn, internationally or around your own city. There’s nothing better than researching about a building on screen/on paper and then experiencing it first hand. Yes, I am a proud nerd. Naturally, I love drawing buildings and studying works of art. Living in different cities has taught me to be resilient, open and observant. My advice is, take all the opportunities you get. You never know when you’ll finally get that email back saying, “we’ve got something for you”. I am very excited to be able to write for BCN and to work with DAP, all because I wrote an honest survey answer. My role at Boston Compass has been creating graphics and posting on the blog. The Brain Arts team is an amazing group of people and I can’t wait to collaborate more! —Cris Rodero
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
UNDERGROUND FLEX: Dungeon Jane One thing Boston lacks is a platform for R&B artists. While rappers rely on blog posts, Tik Toks, and controversial social media posts to gain attention, you’ll always catch an R&B act on a soundstage, performing at local events, doing a cover on a Youtube channel or collaborating with your favorite artist to reach a wider audience. However, I know someone who’s doing shit differently. Meet Dungeon Jane. Since the age of nine, she knew she wanted to sing. Inspired by Beyonce’s “Live At Wembley” DVD where she performed her Dangerously In Love album at full length in the Wembley Arena in London, a young Jane who hadn’t discovered her voice yet, studied the DVD front to back. “I was stuck. I watched and knew that [this] was something I wanted to do but I didn’t necessarily know how to sing,” said Jane. “So, I made that DVD my coach. I sang her songs note-for-note trying to match them. Learning [the] choreography and seeing all the practice that goes into the glitz and glam was something I was paying attention to.” Now 25 years old, the Boston-bred artist cites her inspirations being women from all walks of life – her mother, Mariah Carey, Jhene Aiko, SZA and the genre of 90s rhythm and blues. As for her name, Dungeon Jane was created out of the thought of never knowing what to expect and keeping her fans on their toes. “I wanted my artist name to mirror my capabilities, which sometimes even surprise me,” she explained. “Other than keeping my fans happy, I want to keep people on their toes all the time as an artist. I feel as though that’s the best way to create timeless moments.” “As far as the Jane part my name is Janely, but I liked the way Jane sounds especially because people say I don’t look like a Jane, (hence always doing the unexpected) is really my thing.” In 2021, Dungeon Jane released her sophomore effort, Spectrum. Backed by the single, “Ode to You,” Jane shares the ongoing woes one may go through when moving on and hopes her words can comfort others. “It’s okay to feel. It’s okay to feel like a complete disaster because I do too sometimes, but it’s all about how you handle your downfalls. Take life and ride that b*tch by the horns! I want people to feel confident and motivated even through my painful songs.” Dungeon Jane has managed to build a fanbase, despite quarantine delaying her EP release. With over 3,000 followers on social media and 5,000 plays on Apple Music, the songstress has built a name for herself with minimal promotion and is definitely someone to keep on your radar.
—Tahisha Charles
LAYOUT DESIGN:
Phoebe Delmonte: p.1,4,& 5 Hannah Blauner: p.2 & 3 Adrian Alvarez: p.6 & 8 Julia Baroni: p.7 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
BITE BACK
SHORT DISPATCH FROM FIELDS CORNER EATERIES ON THE LIFTING OF THE MASK MANDATE Since the State lifted COVID restrictions on May 29 and eased the public health emergency on June 15, many eateries have continued to have their staff mask up. Motivations for doing so range, and can reflect personal preferences regarding safety and exposure, the vaccination status of fellow employees, vaccination rates among the community, etc. Businesses in Fields Corner have taken a diversity of approaches, with some businesses requiring customers to mask, others relying on the honor system, while most staff continue to mask up. I checked in with two Fields Corner eateries on their thoughts about masking and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on business: Sam H., who works the reg at Just Thai Kitchen—a newcomer on Dorchester Ave that opened in Magic Wok’s old space—says they’re relying on the “honor system,” allowing customers to make their own decisions re: masking. Their business mostly comes from delivery and takeout, but now with the eased restrictions they’re able to offer a few seats to patrons in the shop. While Sam says he knows masking won’t be around forever, he and other staff are not quite ready to shed their masks and will continue to wear them. A few steps up the block, Thomas F., who has worked at Antonio’s Hi-Fi for four years, says
he and other employees will continue to mask and encourage staff and community members to get vaccinated. Like Just Thai, they rely on the honor system when it comes to masking. Acknowledging that COVID has brought hard times to many Dorchester Ave businesses— note: nationwide, 40% of businesses owned by people of color have closed since the start of the pandemic—Thomas expressed his gratitude to the community that kept them busy during the pandemic; the shop never closed, and luckily, never had any cases. Since the lifting of restrictions, Antonio’s has seen an uptick in sales, and customers can now enjoy a slice or pastelitos at new window seating that opens to the street outside. Antonio’s HiFi has a few other renovations in the works, and hopes to open a late-night pizza window in the coming weeks. As restrictions lift and some sense of so-called ‘normalcy’ returns to eating out in Boston, the continuing presence of plexiglass around registers, masked restaurant employees, and “no mask, no entry signs” seem to suggest a different reality—one where local businesses will continue to do what’s best for them and their community, as they’ve done throughout the pandemic.
---------------------- DANA FERRANTE
EXPERIMENTAL EXCURSION
We are back in print for warmer weather and music to accompany the harsh blistering sun. For this edition, I will be reviewing some physical CDs + cassettes that were generously sent to me for review by (+DOG+) and Wrong Whole Archival Bureau.
Le feeling right from the start brings a sonically spacious and emotionally poignant piece from the beginning to the end. Every song is a gradual buildup to the next one being more intense than the last. This album is a true piece of stark textures and melodies 1. +DOG+ - The Family Music Book Volume 3 that should not be missed. If you’re not convinced, I listened to this album twice by accident because I felt it was too short. 3. Stuffed Spider - Secret Speech
Early in June, a large container ship carrying huge quantities of toxic materials—25 metric tons of nitric acid and billions of tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, which are feedstock for manufacturing of plastic products—caught fire and sank off the coast of Sri Lanka. The cleanup crew found the nurdles irreparably mixed in with sand on nearby beaches, reaching as far as 75 miles to the south. Dead fish, birds and sea turtles began to wash up on shore. And for what? What shook me about this story was putting it into the context of the pandemic. “This is like the coronavirus, no end in sight,” one sailor from the shipwreck told AFP. “We removed all the plastic yesterday, only to see more of it dumped by the waves overnight.” Experts say that this region, which was a rich area for fishing, will be severely affected for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to pare the hysteria over the public health consequences of Covid to the near total lack of concern we demonstrate societally over plastic, a fossil fuel-derived material whose proliferation ravages our environment and will ensure a planet that will not be habitable for human life moving forward. It is one of the most disturbing consequences of our love affair with corporations, who continue to be the world’s biggest plastic pollution offenders. Yet, most people I know—many of whom have been up in arms over Covid and were willing to change their behaviors drastically to adapt to a new public health reality—seem to be pretty unconcerned by it. Most still aren’t willing to forgo how convenient plastic makes their lives in the short term. It’s not really the consumer that is guilty here, because at this point, you can’t really escape it, even if you’re like me and you want to— the ubiquity of plastic and the wastefulness of modern life binds us all to it, whether we like it or not. In reality, there shouldn’t even be the option to use a cup, or a fork, or a diaper a single time and throw it away. The fact that it’s even on the shelves at all is the problem. This is a gloomy column. But I’m a solutionsoriented person. Currently, there are 43 bills in the Massachusetts State House and Senate that target the visible aftermath of corporatism: plastic waste. Many of these,
while well-intentioned, will be largely ineffective at combating waste streams, because they promote things like recycling infrastructure, which is more of a bandaid than a solution to the problem. But 11 of them explicitly target reducing single-use plastic in Massachusetts (listed below). That is (slightly) encouraging. That is the type of legislation we need to be supporting, and we need to push our legislators (whose names are listed in parenthesis) to get more aggressive and creative in identifying this problem and normalizing the solution. You’ll notice that 3 of the bills are dedicated exclusively to plastic straws. Seriously? This item-by-item approach just isn’t going to cut it. We need sweeping legislation. H869, An Act to reduce single-use plastics from the environment (Ciccolo) H870, An Act to support restaurants and reduce single-use plastics in the environment (Ciccolo) H871, An Act to reduce packaging waste (Connolly) H879, An Act to strengthen reuse, repurpose, recycle (Campbell) H902, An Act relative to plastic bag reduction (Ehrlich) H907, An Act of leadership by the state of Massachusetts to reduce single use plastics (Fernandes) H989, An Act to restrict, reduce, and minimize the use and distribution of single-use plastic straws in Massachusetts (Pignatelli) H998, An Act restricting distribution of singleuse plastic straws (Rogers) S494, An Act to combat disposable plastic straw waste (Barrett) S503, An Act to reduce plastic packaging waste (Creem) S525, An Act relative to plastic bag reduction (Eldridge) The disaster in Sri Lanka isn’t the first or the last. While massively profitable for corporate bottom lines, there are countless hidden costs. When it comes time to pay them, it is people and ecosystems—not corporations— who foot the bill.
------------------------------ KARINE VANN
Entering the abyss that is this CD, you find layers of your brain polarized into black and white. The collection of tracks on volume 3 will put you in a cacophonous and dissonant state where all boundaries are shattered. That being said, there is solace to be found in this disc and even rest in the album as well providing a conceptual spiral which will go anyway you want it to be taken. Give this album a listen, especially if you’re in nature for added effect.
From the gradually slow speech samples and drum machines to tape loops that sound like they were recorded in space, Stuffed Spider never made a boring note. Listening to this tape is exhilarating. It feels as if you lose sense of time listening to this album because of that, and when it’s over the impression is still there. 2. Le feeling - a delphinum, Blue, upon Again, thanks to +DOG+ and the crew at your grave Wrong Whole Archival Bureau for this edition of Experimental Excursion. See you in the void next month!
----------- MICHAEL MAMBRINO
DANIE MAIO @DANIEMAIO
WASTE IS WOEFUL
Dear readers, I was all set to write a breakdown of composting for this month’s column. It was gonna be a clean, mean, digestion machine. The material was rich and I had an outline that I was following. (Rare stuff.) I hope to write that column soon. However, today is one of the last days of spring, and as more people start to meet each other using their actual faces and breathing the same air (safely and otherwise), I realize I’m deeply tired of instructions. Instead, let me introduce you to my compost system. Unlike most beloved objects and vehicles in my life, my compost system is nameless*. It is SO ALIVE though! Backyard composting is like putting all the wild microorganisms from your neighborhood in a fishbowl, except instead of a depressed beta following your movements around the room you have a dense container of beneficial bacteria chowing through moldy veggies and transforming them into nutrient-rich soil. It’s like the 7th best pet you could get. It’s also warm! Healthy, active compost generates heat. The bigger the pile the warmer it can get. Some larger compost systems are even used to heat greenhouses. Mine isn’t nearly big enough for that, but the first year I started it, I put my hand to the side of the bin one winter day and felt it working. The scent of good compost is amazing. Healthy piles are sweet and earthy smelling, never foul or sour. To achieve this you have to focus on *balance*. Not too wet, and not too dry. Not too many “greens” (nitrogen-rich vegetable matter) or “browns” (carbon-rich matter like sawdust and leaves) in proportion.
Frequent turning helps control moisture levels and adds necessary air to the mix. I have an old rowing oar that I leverage against the edge of the bin, allowing me to pull stuff up from the bottom, then mix it around. There are also less labor-intensive types of compost bins, like tumbler models with hand cranks. I made most of my system myself. The Darth Vader helmet on the left is a plastic unit subsidized by my city’s DPW. You put fresh stuff in through the top, and a little door on the front slides up and lets you take finished compost from the bottom. Unfortunately, burrowers chewed through the base and dug a clandestine distribution network underneath. Their cabal lasted many months before I discovered the tunnels. I reinforced the structure with steel mesh and demoted it to “finished compost.” The bins on the right are made from steel trash cans, drilled with enough holes to mimic set pieces in a mafia movie shootout (aeration!). The one in the middle is the “percolator.” After an initial load of earlystage compost, it receives only dry browns, and gets mixed regularly. The one on the right is the “mouth,” the one we feed. When the microorganisms have done their jobs and I’ve done mine, the compost is fresh, fluffy, and as dark as rain-soaked tree bark.
“The archives are just...sitting there. Rotting. I feel like we need to do something about it. Keep it alive” says a man. His hair is saltmatted. His demeanor is demure, but there is a spark in his hazel eyes. We will call him the Undertaker. “Who’s the we here? Me? You? Do you have the knowhow to get inside the Ivory Towers, find any one of the hundreds of servers in there, and pick and choose what is most worth saving?” A solidly-built woman fires back. Her wide arms are crossed. For our purposes, she will be known as the Midwife. A kiddo stands on their toes on the weathered wood of the pontoon and sticks their head in the midst of the tension, asking “what’s in the tower?? What’s a server? What do you mean worth saving?” A fitting name for this child is Curiosity. At this question, the Undertaker’s eyes light up. “Everything, darling. Everything. The Ivory Towers contain some of the deepest archives of humanity’s scientific knowledge, original source material back to Ptolemy. Mankind’s greatest achievements. Locked up tight in metal boxes that might lock forever if we don’t get to them ------------------------- AMELIA YOUNG soon.” Curiosity’s eyes widen and reflect back @ameliacyoung some of the Undertakers fire, their mouth a *feel free to PM me with small ‘o’ as they imagine ancient knowledge compost bin name suggestions stored in dark passages just on the other side of the Charles. The Midwife cuts in: “That’s exactly it, though. Mankind’s greatest achievement. Not Womankind. Not Humankind. Look where all those great men got us.” And the Midwife uncrosses her arms and indicates the shoddy, bobbing houseboats, huddled together in the cold dawn. “Hey!” Curiosity exclaims, and pouts, “I like Bay Village! It’s fun and I like running on the bridges and I can always knock on
a houseboat door and they usually have some greenbread or a taffy for me if I’m polite…” The Midwife’s expression softens “Once again, little one, you are more right than the rest of us.” She turns to the Undertaker “What we’ve built here is what’s important. Ptolemy won’t give us any good information about how to best grind algae to make greenbread. Or how to anchor our flotilla against the monsoon season. This is a new world, and the great men of the lost world aren’t around to help us build it.” The Undertaker shifts from one foot to the next, nervously feeling his rhetoric beginning to slip. “I...I used to work there. Doing research.” Surprise shows in the face of the Midwife, incomprehension in Curiosity’s. “In the tower, it wasn’t just old white men telling people what to do. Sure, it was mostly that. But it was also something different. It wasn’t about being efficient, or even productive, it was about uncovering truth. Discovering and documenting something fundamental and eternal that was just a drop in a beautiful ocean. No, not the ocean. It was organized, built up, alive. We were making bricks, and you felt that your brick was part of a city. The city. The greatest and oldest city, with strata stretching back millenia. And open gates, welcoming newcomers. And plazas filled with lively discussion. And great gardens that fed the mind and spirit. But now I see the great City of Science, sinking beneath the waves. Like so many other cities these days. Yes, the lost world was flawed, its science didn’t save us and here we are. Here we are, and we have a chance to keep a part of it alive. To keep building.”
------------------------- MICAH EPSTEIN
Pavement Coffeehouse is Unionizing, and So Should You
REFLECTIONS FROM UNION VETERAN STEVE GILLIS “It’s been amongst our conversations in the labor movement this week.” Steve Gillis has a short, gray beard, a deep, cool voice, and is a self-described rambler. He’s talking about the recent decision of Boston’s Pavement Coffeehouse workers to become the first unionized café in Massachusetts. We’re sitting in a room at the Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35, a union hall in Roslindale. Steve has a bunch of audio equipment spread out for an event he’s doing later on. There’s a meeting outside in the parking lot, where a bunch of guys are laughing and talking shop. Gillis himself is a Boston school bus driver of 36 years, and is the former president and current finance director of Local 8751, the Boston school bus drivers’ union. “The city of Boston was forced to create my job,” says Gillis. “For the first 20 years, people threw rocks and sticks at us in the street. We wore crash helmets.” Gillis is referring to federal Judge Garrity’s 1974 decision to integrate Boston’s public schools, and the largely racist backlash that ensued. Gillis is just as frank about the problems that have arisen between Boston school bus drivers and their employer, Transdev. Gillis says Transdev was given the mission to break up the union, and he anticipates that his union will strike this year due to possible wage freezes and increases in health insurance premiums.
DAVID TAYLOR @D.S.7.AWOL
We soon return to the Pavement conversation. Gillis likens his early days as a bus driver to taking a coffee house job nowadays. “[Bus driving] was full of photographers and artists. It was a minimum wage, no bathroom in the parking lot, kind of job. And it developed into a fairly powerful union of around a thousand people with the best wages and benefits of any school bus drivers in the country that we know of.” He believes the pandemic has opened the eyes of many to unfair labor practices, and we should all be pushing to collectively bargain with our employers. “There isn’t a shortage of workers,” he says. “People are refusing to go back to this shit.” His comments affirm the position of the Pavement workers organizing committee, who claim that unsafe and unjust working conditions during the pandemic are partly behind their decision to organize. When asked for organizing advice, Gillis says “don’t be afraid to talk to people at work. Form a committee at your workplace to start talking about conditions. That way you build trust among each other.” Meanwhile, as of the writing of this article, Pavement founder Larry Margulies has stated that he will recognize and work with the Pavement workers’ union, and talks should be taking place over the summer. Tune in next month for more Boston area labor news!
------- STEPHEN GRIGELEVICH
Good Music Showcase Series Organized by @djalcide! Mass’s MOST Consistently Run Showcase Tour!!! Five Years And Running!!! Taking sign ups for June now. Signup Info: Alcidemusic@gmail.com
pap more at bostoncompassnews
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Eliot Schoolyard Summer Concert Series FREE Concerts on Sunday afternoons at 4pm at 24 Eliot St, Jamaica Plain thru 9/26. Bring Your Own Seat! RSVP at eliotschool.org/ programs/events
ADVOCACY Survey for Community Artists!! All U.S.-based community artists and arts administrators have more time to support a resource tool that will advocate for fairer practices in the field of communitybased art. Contributing to this survey will lead to a publicly available series of infographics and visuals that will share testimonials, resources, and advice for how to advocate for our creative rights as community practitioners. 5 people who fill out the survey completely will be randomly selected to receive $200 each. https:// linktr.ee/artiswork Blue Crime Blue Dime A community initiative working to have police pay for their own lawsuits and settlements instead of the state draining the wallets of taxpayers. Check out their IG @bluecrimebluedime and Twitter @dime_crime for community events like social justice BBQs that they host. Save The Harbor/Save The Bay is an incredible non-profit organization working to clean up Boston’s beaches and harbors and make them free and accessible to all. They are presenting some dope art programs this summer as part of their Better Beaches program so stay tuned! @savetheharbor and www.savetheharbor.org Sunrise Movement Boston works everyday to stop climate change and create jobs in the process. Find them at @sunrisemvmtboston to cue into all the rad actions and workshops they have going on. Asian American Resource Workshop is a political home for pan-Asian communities in Greater Boston. They are a member-led organization committed to building grassroots power through political education, creative expression, and issue-based and neighborhood organizing. Join today! @aarw.boston and www.aarw.org Mass Action Against Police Brutality A campaign to prosecute the police and jail those who are guilty, open all past cases of police brutality, and end the harassment of victims and witnesses. Visit www.maapb.org for info on actions/protests in the Boston area. Follow Voices of Liberation for regular information and advocacy for housing equity in greater Boston. They host meetings, summits, and actions to engage the public in this important cause!
CityLife/VidaUrbana: Organizing for racial, economic, and gender justice since 1973. Building solidarity to put people before profits. Support their Homes For All Act at homesforallmass.org/act !
MUSIC & AUDIO 7/4-7/5 Revival Fest @ Dusk (PVD) featuring Baylies Band, Atlantic Thrills, Cosmic Factory, Shore City, and many more! 7/10 Bridgeside Cypher at the Skatepark! Ongoing series featuring freestyle circles, featured performances and videos @Lynch Family Skatepark 7:30pm All Ages 7/10 Sunburned Hand of the Man / Powers-Rolin Duo / Stella Kola finally back home and live again! Bring it in for these experimental music mainstays! @Lilypad 7pm $15 All Ages 7/11 GRCB Halloween ReBoot! Lineup TBA soon!! All proceeds benefit Girls Rock Camp Boston. @ONCE Somerville 2:30pm - 6pm All Ages 7/16 ONCE Somerville and Boynton Yards present Counterintuitive Records Outdoor Summer Party! Featuring Macseal, Born Without Bones, Jophus (first show!) @101 Summer Street, Somerville 7pm All Ages 7/16 Service, Miracle Blood, Dando Fever @Ralphs Rock Diner (Worcester) 8:30pm 21+ 7/18 Playing Dead - Free Show @Herter Park Amphitheatre 3-6pm All Ages 7/24 NICE, a Fest featuring Really From, Mint Green, Pet Fox, Lady Pills, and many many more! @ONCE Somerville 1pm All Ages!! 7/31 Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys + guests (matinee) @ONCE Somerville 1-4pm All Ages Amplify Soul by BAMS Fest! Every Friday at 8pm on Boston Art Music Soul Youtube, tune in for a digital concert experience for music lovers and everyday people. More info at bamsfest.org Tiny DAP Concert Series Our spin on the NPR Tiny Desk Concert Series! July’s episode features Notebook P. Visit
dorchesterartproject.com/tiny-dap
for more info and subscribe to the Boston Compass Newspaper Youtube channel for video drops!
Check out WECB fm Boston! WECB is a student-run, creatively independent internet radio station at Emerson College in Boston. They host dozens of radio shows by hundreds of DJs and highlight new and exciting music both locally and beyond! Also check out their music review platform Milk Crate! To listen and for more info, visit: www.wecb.fm Sonorium. Ever check out the sick, recurring, Salem-based experimental music exposé known only as Sonorium?! You can see their past live performances online and stay informed on upcoming virtual performances, Youtube videos and more at www.sonorium.net Boston Art Podcast dope new podcast creating meaningful discussions with Boston artists! New episodes every other Friday on Youtube and Spotify @bostonartpodcast Spark FM at Night with DJ Stix: Every Tuesday/Thursday from 11-1AM plus many more programs! Check out www.sparkfmonline.com Feel it Speak it: Boston’s only monthly open mic movement dedicated to voices & experiences of the LGBTQ+ communities of color every Thursday. Open mic sign up: tinyurl.com/fisivirtual @feelit_speakit The OOZE New England’s only party dedicated and catering to all the rad underground genres of electronic music and internet subculture. Check out @kerrydabrunette on IG for info and updates! Did you know that Modern Party Art hosts Open Mic Night every Wednesday 6:30-9:30PM EST? From beginners to people who do this for a living-- the stage is yours! Reserve your seat by buying tickets in advance. There is a 20 person limit during Covid. Follow @modernpartyart for more! Nonevent is a Boston-based concert series devoted to the presentation of experimental, abstract, improvised, and new music from New England and around the world. Visit nonevent.org Virtual First Fridays Open Mic: All ages and talents welcome! Sign up here! https://bit.ly/FF-OpenMic-Signup
Subcentral is a unique space that spored from the subculture in the heart of Cambridge. They are dedicated to promoting and producing electronic music and performance arts, while nourishing creative minds through classes, workshops and art installations. @subcentral.studio and www.subcentral.studio
VIDEO & FILM Cinema Salem has been resurrected under new leadership! They aim to provide more cult classics and art haus obscurities to Massachusetts film buffs. Here’s the July and beyond lineup all start at 10PM and cost $11: July 9th: ERASERHEAD July 16th: HAUSU (HOUSE) July 23rd: FANTASTIC PLANET July 30th: DAISIES August 6th: MULTIPLE MANIACS Grrl Haus Cinema Gimme Five film screening featuring “My Walk Home” by Lindsay Heatley (@lindsay_heatley). Gimme Five is an ongoing series of short film screenings featuring follow up interviews with the filmmakers. Find more info at grrlhauscinema.com Weird Local Film Festival has been killing it this past year by providing you with regular virtual film fests by some of the most forward thinking makers around! Follow them @weirdlocalfilmfestival for archived festivals and live ones too! ShowPlace ICON is host to a redefined movie experience with cutting-edge digital and theatre technology. Check out their website for events. www.ShowPlaceICON.com @showplaceiconboston The DocYard is an awardwinning film and discussion series at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge which also sponsors special screenings and copresentations throughout the year. Thedocyard.com Boston Compass Youtube Channel! Yes we are plugging ourselves because we are just so excited about our current and upcoming video endeavors! Check out our second video series Tiny Dap ConcertS! Episode 1 out now featuring DJ Whysham!
VISUAL ART 7/8 - 8/8 “Eye Candy” exhibition opens @Praise Shadows Art Gallery. The first solo exhibition in Boston by the New York-based artist Jon Burgerman. Internationally recognized for his vibrant, intuitive style, Eye Candy embodies the world of Burgerman’s characters through works in various media from drawing, painting, to threedimensional collectible items and books. Plug in and Support Humphrey St Studios! An amazing maker space in Dorchester that is at risk of displacement. Join their #ArtWorksHere campaign at humphreysstreetstudio.com/ artworkshere. Support the Nubian Square Public Art Initiative, a newly launched initiative spearheaded by Black Market Nubian to develop a series of public murals and installations as a catalyst for neighborhood economic empowerment by the community, for the community. blackmarketnubian.com/nspai
Distillery Gallery Curated by BLAA (Boston LGBTQIA Artist Association), “some assembly required” brings together an intergenerational cohort of queer artists enmeshed in the Greater Boston arts ecosytem. On view June 7–July 23 www.distillerygallery.com 13FOREST Gallery is honored to present Essence: In Celebration of Juneteenth, an exhibition guest curated by Cedric “Vise1” Douglas. Essence brings together fifteen Bostonarea artists working in diverse media to commemorate the first year in which Juneteenth will be recognized as a state holiday in Massachusetts. Thu 7/29, 6-8 pm: Meet the Artists Reception. On view until 8/6 CALL FOR ARTISTS: Kingston Gallery. There are many opportunities to apply to get your work shown and to get involved! Check out www.kingstongallery.com CALL FOR WORK: Aviary Gallery is currently seeking work for our weekly online exhibition features on a rolling basis. All mediums are accepted, so long as the work can be represented by high quality images. More info at aviarygallery.com
PERFORMANCE ART Studio 550 Fundraiser: This beloved dance and performance space in Central Square has officially been displaced and needs your help relocating. Donate now at studioat550.org/campaigns/ covid-19-sustainabilityemergency-fund/ Check out Artists’ Theater of Boston! They produce “thoughtful, evocative work that challenges systemic injustices facing our communities through the collaborative process of making theater”. Online opportunities and performances can found at artiststheater.org Midway or the Highway Open Mic! On Zoom! Find us on Facebook for the address. All are welcome when Angela Sawyer & Dave Robinson host some of the city’s most talented comedians, musicians, and weirdos too! If you’re feeling brave, put your name in the bucket and get a moment onstage under the lights. Every Monday night! The Black Comedy Explosion: Wednesday nights at Slades Bar and Grill starting at 7pm. Join us as we bring you some of today’s funniest comedians from BET Comic View, HBO DEF Comedy Jam, and more, with both national and local acts. Sladesbarandgrill.com @slades.boston Starlight Square: Outdoor events happening all summer at Starlight Square in Central Square, Cambridge. Check the calendar at www.starlightsquare. org/events
LITERARY ART Art & Letters Poetry Zine has two new special issues out now: “14 International Younger Poets” and “Mexico: Photographs”. Learn more and order now at www.artnletters.com Superfroot Magazine submissions for issue #2 open July 15th and go to September 15th. Dedicated to uplifting underrepresented artists and writers, this zine focuses on a new theme each issue. The theme this time is NOSTALGIA. Learn more at www.superfroot.com Fuck Your Dreams Zine tackles the unspoken topics of death, decay and destruction through art and writing. Issue #2 out now! Purchase at www.fuckyourdreamszine. com and look out for more submission calls! Moral Crema Zine has released its third edition dedicated to the archiving and promotion of experimental artists who are primarily queer, POC, working class, and women. Find out more @moralcrema and purchase at www.moralcrema.com Pleasure Pie zines and illustrations about sexual empowerment and consent! @pleasurepie www.pleasurepie.org Check out the Papercut Zine Library virtual library! They are “a free, volunteer-run browsing library with a collection of 16,000+ zines & independent media”. www.papercutzinelibrary.com/
COMMUNITY 7/10 Seek+Find Boston present JP Flea! @First Church JP 10-3pm All Ages The JP Flea is a multicultural marketplace in Boston’s beautiful Jamaica Plain neighborhood, featuring local artists, zine distros/publishers, vintage and antique dealers, small businesses, community non-profits, and artisans of all kinds! 7/18 Bartlett Square Makers Market! @18 Bartlett Square JP 11-3pm All Ages Support local makers working in a variety of media at this monthly market! Apparel Brand, Music Label and Entertainment Company Scope Apparel has opened a storefront and HQ AT 484 B Center St, Jamaica Plain. Check it out! @scopeapparel and www.scopeapparel.com The Lucky Jungle a new Cambridge community space has spawned from the depths of quarantine. Selling work of local artists and beautiful plants, providing specialized art classes, and soon putting on live performances, this space seems to offer everything we need after a year trapped in our rooms. @theluckyjungle and www.theluckyjungle.com
M.O.B. Melanin Owned Business Market! At Dorchester Art Project Every Saturday in July from 12-5pm at 1490 Dorchester Ave come support an amazing selection of Black-owned Businesses curated by Shakenna Appleberry of 2 Fruits Wellness. Follow her at @2fruitswellness! Check out the Daily Table at 684 Mass. Ave in Central Square! They sell affordable, sustainable food for all. Check out their other locations in Dorchester and Roxbury! They are open from 9AM–8PM on Monday - Friday, and 11AM– 7PM on Sundays. WEEKLY MUTUAL AID (FFC) around Atkinson and Topeka Streets, Boston every Friday at 6 PM. Providing food, clothing, cold weather supplies. Donations are always welcome (funds and gloves, hand warmers, socks, hats, snacks/ sandwiches). All volunteers are welcome. Love to cook? Bring a hot meal to serve. Boston GLASS operates Drop-In Community Centers for LGBTQ+ youth of color between the ages of 13–25! GLASS provides a continuum of services to LGBTQ+ youth of color and their allies in the Greater Boston and Greater Framingham areas and also provides education and consultation to other providers and community organizations. Women Explore Lecture and Discussion Forum: Women Explore provides lecture series within a feminist learning community for women, to connect with the sacred dimensions of their experience and to support and encourage each other in the world community. womenexplore.org
Theatre is taking it outside this summer as theatres look to reopen this Fall. Shakespeare on the Common returns to downtown with one of Boston’s most fun and free events. This year’s production of The Tempest looks like a home run so reserve your spot now as space is limited. Gloucester Stage is bringing back their NeverDark series with a bunch of shows that play for one or two nights only. These tickets aren’t cheap ($34) but neither is the talent, including Obie winning director Orlando Pabotoy, playwright/performer Dee Dee Batteast and the incredible dancer/choreographer by Valeria Solomonoff. Check out details on these shows and more below in our listing… Anything we’re missing? Email TheatrescapeBoston@gmail.com —CEEK 7/11 & 7/13 Trust Me. Trust Me Not Gloucester Stage’s NeverDark series includes this ambitious piece from the Valetango Company, who uses the foundations from the Argentine Tango to tell stories with similar power dynamics and collaboration. This show has some MAJOR talents from around the world behind it, creating an incredible new language of movement and theatre to move you. WHERE: $34 general admission. GloucesterStage. com 7/20 The Search for My Identity Part of the NeverDark series, this one-woman show by Dee Dee Batteast explores the role race, gender and culture play in how we define ourselves. Take a ride up to Rockport and support an important voice. WHERE: $34 general admission. GloucesterStage.
com 7/21-8/8 Shakespeare on the Common: The Tempest Commonwealth Shakespeare Company celebrates their 25th production on the common this summer with Shakespeare’s last play ever written, The Tempest. Pack a picnic and enjoy the show! WHERE: Reserve your FREE spot now at CommShakes.org
Thru 7/11 Listen to Sipu New Repertory Theatre offers a new installment in their Watertown Historical Moving Plays series with a socially distanced, walking tour through town. This time your guide is Sipu, who will walk and talk audiences through the indigenous history of the area,
debunking many myths in the process. $25 general tickets and free for anyone who identifies as indigenous. WHERE: NewRep.org 7/2-7/25 Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery Head up to beautiful Rockport for an outdoor show full of mystery and laughs, featuring the iconic Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Gloucester Stage Company is really putting their supporting cast to work with three actors portraying over forty characters.. WHERE: $15 for students/$54 general admission. GloucesterStage.com
Community Fridges! There’s a bunch of these popping up all around the city! They provide food for all and are totally volunteer-run! Check Out @bostoncommunityfridge @dotcommunityfridge @allstoncommunityfridge @matcommunityfridge @cambridgecommunityfridge @roslindalecommunityfridge Some are relocating and need your help finding business and people to host them! Boston LGBTQIA+ Artists Association is revamping with a new director and a new website! They just released a survey asking what LGBTQIA+ artists in Boston would like to see happen with this new organization. Find it at www. blaa.us
Hey y’all!!! So much is happening at DAP. Let’s start with our Tiny DAP Concert series! We are so excited to launch a series of live music featuring local talent. We salute Jay Hunt for coming up with such a great Idea, and appreciate everyone who made it possible! Using DAP creative spaces for an intimate and entertaining experience, Tiny DAP Concerts is a series you don’t wanna miss! You can view some of the first episodes on the Boston Compass Newspaper Youtube channel. DAP is soooooo poppin’ that we now have a Digital Art Workshop featuring Adobe Suite! Anyone can reserve it for an affordable hourly rate. The workshop is geared for community use, so we encourage everyone to come down and create some digital magic! It is available Wednesday thru Friday from 1pm-7pm and on Sundays from 2pm-5pm. We love Tenant Tuesdays and are always looking forward to highlighting local talent. We would like to spotlight Ari, a photographer and painter. We love her work, so definitely follow her on IG @ aconstantp! Last but not least, the DAP store is calling all local clothing vendors— if you create your own designs or know someone with a brand, send them our way! And let them know what’s DAPpening! —Nancia
The Market by Cagen Luse
@cagenmiles
Art Schoolin by Laura Meilman @l_meilman
©2021TSH
@jamjarastronaut ke The Boston s ma u 0% p l He Compass is 10 ing! n h ru t ree s nt i lu vo th
Amplify new vo ices!
>>
Email to learn how
kevin@brain-arts.org
t our Ar See Y ! Here?
work to send your -ar ts.org in ra adrian@b
tear this poster out and put it on a wall! -
Art by Caroline Dunlap
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@cx_dunlap
The Place of a Skull
TRIFECTA
The unfortunate Marketability Drives me like a comic Jesus Making a scene, brandishing
TOURS
CUSTOM
DAY
TRIPS
NATURE
CULTURE
CUISINE BOSTON
FROM
A switch, playfully Chasing away the other poets, Cutting up Christianity
EAST BOSTON
In a brave New Testament He shall sell;
TRIFECTA
A coquet With so many
NATURE:
Substances in His beard, hushing rumors
BELLE ISLE RESERVATION 1399 Bennington Street
So they spread, His long hair
Salt marsh, meadows, fens, egrets & wind
Girlish, posturing His two front teeth upon
CULTURE:
HARBOR ARTS 256 Marginal Street
His lip as He’s flagellated
Yes, art. In public. For free. On the water.
Mai by Amber Torres
By the hulking Centurion. Passionately,
@ambersafro
CUISINE:
I don His crown, laurel
ANGELA’S CAFE 131 Lexington Street
Holy mole, a heavenly Mexican meal!
Stuck into the brier, Blackened by the fruit.
Trifecta Tours offer recommendations for experiencing Nature, Culture, and Cuisine in a city, neighborhood, town, or region within Eastern Massachusetts. Trifectas are easy, fun day trips from Boston, perfect for groups of friends or a short romantic getaway.
“Hosanna!” They pick me up And place me On the back of the ass, Fanning me with palm,
Neil Horsky • horskyprojects.com
And trot me off To Golgotha, To watch the fulfillment Of my career.
JUSTIN BURNETT Justin Burnett is a house painter from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who now lives in Salem. This month he is featured in 14 International Younger Poets, edited by Philip Nikolayev, a new anthology from Art and Letters.
JULY TAROT FORECAST
The Tarot Forecast is a look at the month ahead in a tarot spread. This July, I am focusing on revolution, rest, and checking in on our energy. Revolution asks us to give of our energy, to put in the work, and make change. And rest — real, deep rest — allows us to replenish our energy. This summer is going to ask a lot of us: social events, work to do, systems to change. So how is your energy? And how are you going to renew it? Checking In with Our Energy: The V of Pentacles represent where our energy levels are currently. This dreary card means worry about our money, illness in our bodies, poverty, and sadness. It’s a sign of insecurity in the material world (body, home, job, finances). We’ve been misusing our resources, and what is energy other than our most important resource of all? We may be feeling depleted now, and that’s a wake up call. Recovery is necessary. Ask yourself: How am I spending my time? Make sure you are creating space to grieve, heal, and process the past year and a half before you start pretending everything is “normal.” Stop putting time, effort, and money into situations, people, and institutions that drain you.
Viscous Verses is edited by Raquel Balboni and Ben Mazer editorsartletters@gmail.com
of tradition, institutions, and conformity. We have witnessed systems and institutions cause us harm. It is now time for us to put our energy towards fighting authority and rewriting the norms. We must become the teachers and mentors we need. Whether it’s family traditions, religious rules, or government laws, we must put in the work to change what does not serve us. Guidance for July: The VI of Pentacles brings us guidance for this month. This card is a cycle of giving and receiving. When you are in need, allow yourself to be humble and honest enough to ask for help. And when you have plenty, you must share. This card is a blessing and signals growth and prosperity, but it also reminds me of capitalism. Pay close attention to who gets to give and who has to always ask. What would true equity look like? It’s time to make it happen.
How Can We Replenish Our Energy? A welcomed sight, the II of Cups guides us to replenish and refill with love, intimacy, and connection. In partnership with people who provide us equity, is where we can refill and start to feel emotionally whole again. But don’t confuse a love interest with a partnership. Sex and romance only rejuivinate us when there is multual vulnerability and care involved. Turn to someone who you see as your equal and who wants to step into platonic or romantic unity with you. There you will find you can rest easy and you will feel the deepness that is love. What Do We Need to Put Our Energy Towards? The card of both authority and antiauthority, V The Hierophant is where we need to collectively pour our energy. The Hierophant is a card
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Fields Corner across from DAP
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