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Sam Durant: The Meeting House | Opens August 2016

The Meeting House, by renowned multimedia artist Sam Durant, will be open to the public on August 5th at The Old Manse in Concord, a National Historic Landmark in Massachusetts, through October 2016. The site-specific, participatory installation is part of a two-year outdoor art initiative—Art and The Landscape—presented by The Trustees and curated by guest curator Pedro Alonzo.

Constructed on the North Field of The Trustees’ Old Manse property, Durant’s project refers directly to the historical site through a structure based on the houses of the first emancipated African men and women in Concord. The pavilion features an open, transparent framework that is designed to function as a platform for the public to share and explore history, artwork, and issues of race, while reactivating The Old Manse as a setting for critical discussions.

The Meeting House focuses on the African presence in colonial and post-revolutionary Concord and seeks to make the connection between our difficult past, slavery and segregation, and the fact that we are still today unable to create the just society that our revolution promised.

Beginning in August and running through October, The Meeting House will feature a series of public programs through which visitors may gain a deeper understanding of the background and challenges of African Americans in the region and explore and discuss many of the same issues faced today. When not in use for public programs, the pavilion welcomes Old Manse and the Minuteman Historical Park visitors to engage in contemplation and discussion through interpretive information built into the structure.

Another aspect of the project takes place inside the Old Manse itself. This interior exhibition, curated by Durant, is comprised of replicated post-colonial African artifacts as well as a reinterpretation of existing pieces through the lens of the enslaved people who may have impacted them. Items displayed include a manuscript written by Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American female poet; a warning poster from April 1851 directed at freed slaves; a slave ship plan view from Boston’s Museum of African American History; a pamphlet from the Concord Anti-Slavery Society, and more.

Programming will begin in August and includes workshops, readings, and discussions focused on African American writing, philosophy, music, food, and spirituality. Four core events—or “Lyceums”—in the spirit of 19^th century gatherings, will enable dialogue about the issues in question. For a complete list of upcoming programs, please visit thetrustees.org/art.

Saturday, August 13: 12PM-2PM
The Picnic: Food on the table brings families and communities together. This event, in partnership with Haley House, deals with food culture as a means to start a willing dialogue of healing.Saturday, September 24 2PM-4PM
Poetry Reading: A select group of leading poets will be invited to compose new work specifically for a reading at The Meeting House. Featuring: Kevin Young, Danielle Legros Georges and Robin Coste-Lewis.

Saturday, October 15 2PM-4PM
A New Framework for Dialogue: While explicitly racist policies and structures have been dismantled, systemic forms of racism and inequality remain. A panel discussion will be moderated by Tim Phillips and Beyond Conflict and will include artist Sam Durant. Panelists include Ebrahim Rasool, former South African Ambassador to the US, Penny Outlaw of the Royall House & Slave Quarters, and Adam Foss, Assistant District Attorney.

Sunday, October 16 2PM-4PM
The Artist Listens: In the spirit of a town hall meeting, the public is invited to share their thoughts about The Meeting House. The artist and curator will be present for the discussion to listen and respond. This will be moderated by Mary Jane Jacob.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Sam Durant is a multimedia artist whose work takes a critical view of our social, political and cultural tropes and icons. Often referencing American history, his work explores the varying relationships between culture and politics, engaging subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, southern rock music, and modernism. His work has been widely exhibited internationally and in the United States.ABOUT THE OLD MANSE: Although Durant has often referenced American history in his work, he has never been granted access to a historical site of such prominence as the Old Manse, a National Historic Landmark built in 1770 that served as the center of Concord’s political, literary, and social revolutions in the mid-19^th Century. Leading Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller discussed the issues of the day within its walls and author Nathaniel Hawthorne lived and wrote there for a time with his new wife Sophia. The Old Manse is located next to the Old North Bridge and Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord, where the first revolutionary battle was fought and draws two million combined visitors each year.

ABOUT ART AND THE LANDSCAPE
As part of its yearlong 125^th Anniversary celebration, The Trustees, Massachusetts’ largest conservation and preservation nonprofit, is featuring a multi-year, site-specific outdoor art initiative entitled Art and The Landscape. With the help of independent curator Pedro Alonzo, the new initiative is designed to present compelling contemporary art in a public landscape to create inspirational and meditative experiences for visitors at some of its most iconic and historic properties. The Meeting House, by renowned multimedia artist Sam Durant, is on display at The Old Manse in Concord, a National Historic Landmark, through October 2016. A site-specific installation, A New End, by Jeppe Hein, will be on view at World’s End in Hingham starting in August 2016.

ABOUT THE TRUSTEES: Many of The Trustees’ statewide scenic, cultural, and historic properties have served as a dynamic inspiration for artists, thought leaders, and innovators throughout the organization’s 125-year history. Today, Trustees historic homesteads and gardens, farms, woodlands, beaches and trails are popular recreational and cultural destinations visited by more than 1.6 million people in 2015. The Trustees’ Art and The Landscape initiative is also part of a year-long celebration of The Trustees 125^th Anniversarywhich will create new opportunities for visitors to explore and experience the organization’s landscapes and landmarks, some of the most important and iconic in Massachusetts.

If the installation inspires questions or comments for the artist, you can leave a message for Sam Durant via the phone numbers posted around the property: 857-244-0651.

August 4, 2016
Restaurant Find for Cold Korean Noodle Soup

A hot day in Boston calls for a summer Korean speciality, Naengmyeon, a cold beef noodle soup with water kimchi, thin slices of braised beef, and Asian pear.

You start by cutting up the noodles in the bowl, using scissors that the restaurant provides. Add Chinese yellow mustard and vinegar to taste.

Then eat with the side dishes.

Seoul Soulongtang is located in Allston and serves authentic Korean food. This dish was a good as I remember from Korean Town in Los Angeles!

Seoul Soulongtang

1245 Commonwealth Avenue

Allston, MA 02134

This is a casual Korean restaurant focusing classic beef broth soups.

August 3, 2016
Film Fundraiser About Vertex Pharmaceutical

*From Startup to Billion-Dollar Biotech: An Inside Look at Vertex*

*Register Now!

*Cost *$25.00

*When*
Monday August 8, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Add to Calendar

*Where*
*Mass Innovation Labs*
675 West Kendall Street
Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02142

*What was it really like when a team of dedicated researchers and
entrepreneurs launched the biotech revolution in Cambridge? *

Find out first-hand from those who were there for a special panel featuring Rich Aldrich, former Chief Business Officer of Vertex and founding employee, Vicki Sato, Ph.D., the company’s former President and Chief Science Officer, and author Barry Werth!
Join us at this fundraiser to support indie filmmakers Yael Beals, Mark
Rennella, Jim Gallant who will bring the book *The Billion Dollar Molecule* to the big screen.

Our panel includes:

– Barry Werth, author of the books *The Billion Dollar Molecule* and *The
Antidote*
– Vicki Sato, Ph.D., Professor of Management at Harvard Business School
– Rich Aldrich, co-founder and Partner of Longwood Fund
– Barret Bready, M.D., CEO of Nabsys, moderator

Photos donated by Wally Gilbert, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and Professor
Emeritus at Harvard University
will be displayed and auctioned too.

Details:

– Q & A with Sato, Aldrich and Werth, on the birth of the biotech
industry as told in Werth’s book *The Billion Dollar Molecule*
– Filmmakers Yael Beals, Mark Rennella and Jim Gallant will discuss the making of *The Billion Dollar Molecule* into a major feature film
– Silent auction of select photos by Wally Gilbert
– All proceeds go to the funding of the film

*Learn more about this event here.

August 2, 2016
Bringing the Colors of the Maya to Jamaica Plain

Bringing the Colors of the Maya to Jamaica Plain:

Indigenous Arts and Music Festival features Maya paintings from Guatemala

On Saturday, Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 7 from 10am-5pm, Indigenous artists and musicians from across the globe will come together for Cultural Survival’s free admission Native arts and cultures Bazaar. Greater Boston is invited to join them to enjoy Indigenous music from Mali, Ecuador, and the US northeast, as well as art whose purchase supports the livelihoods of Indigenous communities around the globe. One attendee has called it “the best place to get unique global gifts while supporting Indigenous cultures!”

Among the artists to be featured at the Bazaar will be representatives of the Guatemala Art and Culture Connection, whose vision is to utilize arts and crafts as a means of producing intercultural connections across borders as well as to support local initiatives in the communities that they work with.

The organization, founded by Imre and Lorna Kepes of Western MA, specializes in original, authentic art from Mayan villages located around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lake Atitlán, in southern Guatemala. In this picturesque setting, the artists depict scenes of harvest, markets, ceremonies, and other facets integral to the life and culture of the Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel Maya people. The artists are known for their unique style; some of them have had work exhibited in the Smithsonian and in other exhibitions abroad.

With the sale of these colorful paintings and intricate beadwork, the organization donates a portion of the proceeds to help fundAyudame a Pintar Mi Futuro (Help Me Paint My Future), an afterschool youth art program that supports children from families suffering from poverty and other problems in the community of San Pedro La Laguna on the lake’s southern shore.

Also at the Bazaar, attendees will enjoy live music, as well as crafts from over a dozen Indigenous cultures worldwide.

Cultural Survival is a Cambridge-based NGO that advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures, and political resilience since 1972. Since 1982 the Bazaars have provided a market for thousands of artists and cooperatives spanning six continents and over sixty countries. Each year the Bazaars generate roughly half a million dollars for Indigenous artists, performers, and projects benefitting Indigenous communities around the world.Providing a unique space especially for Indigenous artists and their supporters, the Bazaars take attendees on “a trip around the world’s bazaars,” promoting both artistic and socio-political education.

Event information:

Loring-Greenough House

August 6-7, 2016

12 South Street

Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

10am – 5pm

Live music

Free admission // Rain or shine

Free parking
15 min from Green St. stop on the Orange line; Buses 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41 stop right outside

Food TBA

Musical guests: Bear Fox, Sidy Maiga and Afrimanding, Yarina, and others TBA

August 1, 2016
How to Create and Edit Promotional Videos

The Arlington Chamber of Commerce and ACMI will partner on August 2 and August 23 to present a workshop to teach business, non-profits and individuals how to create and edit their own professional looking promotional videos on an iOS device.

$40 per person – Chamber Members
$65 per person – Non Chamber Members
Registration Fee is for 2 sessions and includes a 6 month membership to ACMi
Class size is limited to 20
Coffee and bagels will be served

SMART PHONE VIDEO PRODUCTION

You already have all the gear you need to create your own videos in your pocket! In this hands-on class, you will learn the foundations of real-world storytelling and how to use your iOS device to craft a product demonstration or testimonial using minimal gear to gain maximum access. At the conclusion of this 2 session class, you will have created a peer-reviewed video ready for sharing online or on TV.

Second session will take place on August 23 – 8:00 – 9:30 am

Requirements: All participants will be required to have an iOS device (iPhone or iPad). Please download and install iMovie for your device before the start of class. Also, it is strongly suggested that you have a pair of headphones that have a built-in mic. All iPhones come packaged with a pair or you can purchase a $15 pair by skull candy at Target.

Sign up here.
Jonathan B. Barbato has a passion for media. He is a freelance media producer engaged with the Harvard Kennedy School, the Mass Literacy Foundation, the Boston Herald, and others to create effective branded content. Jonathan had previously been a member of I.A.T.S.E. Local 161 as a Script Supervisor based out of New York, working with some well known clients, including Hasbro, HGTV, MTV, PBS, Showtime, the Boston Red Sox, the New England Revolution, and more. Currently, he is the Production Manager at Arlington Community Media Inc. where he oversees the strategic direction for their Public channels. Jonathan empowers individuals and organizations with the know-how to create effective videos and marketing materials. He’s developed personalized filmmaking workshops and has spoken at national conferences. In his free time, Jonathan enjoys constructing 3D paper dioramas and traveling the country. Jonathan can be reached by phone at (617) 716-9915 or email at jonathan.b.barbato@gmail.com.

For more info: http://bit.ly/2aiiR73

July 30, 2016
CRI Parents Rowing Team

CRI Parents Rowing Team

Charles River Rowing League 2016

Session 3: August 11th – September 17th

BRIGHTON, MA – JULY 11, 2013: Corporate Rowing: Choate. (Cecille Joan Avila for CRI)

CRI Parents Rowing Team

August 11th – September 17th

6 Week Program

Thursday Nights from 6:45pm – 8:15pm

8+ Person Rowing Shells and Coach Included

@Harry Parker Boathouse, 20 Nonantum Road, Brighton, MA 02135

If you join the team for Session 3 this August you will get a chance to race on the water at the same time as your son or daughter during the CRI Fall Classic on September 17th. Checkout the following link to watch a video and sign up today!

Click Here to Learn More and Sign Up for the CRI Parents Rowing Team!

July 29, 2016
Room for More Students at Regional Model UN Weekend

The Arlington Regional Model UN Club (ARMUN) is taking a group of our students to the Heifer Farm (Rutland, MA) for their 2-night, 2-day Global Gateway experience Columbus Day weekend (Saturday October 8 – Monday, October 10) and we have room for some additional students.

The program consists of interactive workshops in which you learn about Heifer’s Model for community building and how they empower people to get out of the cycle of extreme poverty and malnutrition and constant hunger, and interactively learning about the topics mentioned above while trying to solve a “real world” problem as a group.

The students will spend about 20 hours living in a country or countries in the Global Village set up on the farm, living as an extended family living in poverty in a dwelling typical of an impoverished family in another country (or Appalachia, USA) and they have to buy all the food they will eat at the Global Market, cook and prepare their food over either an open fire or possibly a wood stove (depending on the country they are in), and then solve a crisis that they are presented with after dinner is over to the best of their ability trying to think through what they have been given of the values and beliefs and situation of the family they are taking on the role of.

Finally, they go to sleep in their dwelling, waking up early in the morning to make breakfast, clean their dwelling, pack and move out, and do the farm chores associated with their country’s site. Finally, after chores are done and they are moved out and their site is cleaned up, they meet for a reflection on the experience and get to eat a snack (the first food other than that they bought at the Global Market and prepared in the Global Village that they will have had since lunch the day before — unless there is a medical need not to have some hunger over the 20 hour period of course).

The two days ends with a “Take Action” session in which the participants are helped to think about practical ways they can take action on the things they have learned and want to take back to their everyday lives.

If you are interested in having your student participate, please contact ARMUN Director Kim Holt at kimkayholt@gmail.com.

July 28, 2016
Birthday Wishes Needs Toddler Toys!

Toddler toys needed!

The Newton Office is in need of brand new toddler toys (1-2 years) such as:

* Stacking Toys
* Sensory Balls
* Learning/Activity toys

* Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head

To schedule a donation drop-off click here.

The Newton office is open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.

Can’t make it to Newton? Shop our wish list:

July 27, 2016
Meet New NNHS Principal Henry Turner
Meet and greet the new NNHS principal Henry Turner to be held this summer

Join Henry Turner for conversation and questions.
- Thursday, August 25, 5:30-7:00 p.m., International Café, Newton North
Know you’re coming? Please R.s.v.p. to co-presidents@northptso.org
July 26, 2016
New Pho Restaurant in Waltham!

This new Pho restaurant in Waltham is a find! The food is great and there’s plenty of seating.

My husband and I tried it for lunch on a weekday. By the time we left, the restaurant was pretty full. Always a good sign!

Pho 1 Waltham

374 Moody St

Waltham, MA 02453

The crispy spring rolls were indeed crispy.

The deep fried squid was light and crispy and not at all oily.

Tod Mun is one of my favorite appetizers. It was so good, I almost ate them all before remembering to take a photo.

The menu contains Vietnamese, Thai, with a smattering of Japanese. The Pho soup that I had was great too. I eat Pho year round, even in heat of summer. How about you?

July 25, 2016