MFA/Mass Poetry: Poets in the Galleries

In fall of 2018 – from September through November – three poets will act as Poets in Residence at the galleries in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The workshops will take place on Wednesday evenings 6:30 – 8:30 pm (Wednesday nights after 4 pm, admission is by voluntary contribution). The workshops are designed to be drop-in (although you can stay for the whole time if you like!) No poetry experience is required.

Once you write a poem based on the exhibit, you can submit it here. It might be featured online (on the Mass Poetry or MFA website), chosen as a Poem of the Moment by Mass Poetry, or excerpted for a Raining Poetry installation!

Regie Gibson will lead a workshop at the French Pastels exhibit September 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Kathi Aguero will lead a workshop at the Shelf Life exhibit October 3, 10, 17, 24.

Krysten Hill will lead a workshop at the Nutshells exhibit October 31, November 7, 14, 28. The workshop is called “Cecilia Vicuña: Disappeared Quipu.”

More info at www.masspoetry.org/mfa.

Juneteenth at MFA Boston, Cosponsored by GrubStreet

FREE ADMISSION BEGINS AT 4 PM

On the evening of June 20, join the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for Juneteenth—the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. In partnership with the Transformative Culture Project, the night includes thoughtful discussion, powerful art and engaging activities featuring artists from Boston’s local creative community.

Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865, when news of the end of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation’s declaration “that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free” reached Galveston, Texas—nearly two-and-a-half years after Lincoln issued the proclamation. Today, this holiday is observed around the country with celebrations including parades, cook-outs, performances, community engagement, and more.

• Catch a screening of Marvel’s “Black Panther” on the Huntington Avenue lawn beginning at 8:30 pm with lawn games and live entertainment preceding the screening—including DJ TROY Frost and an artist-led workshop with Chanel Thervil. “Black Panther” kicks off this year’s Roxbury International Film Festival—the largest New England film festival dedicated to celebrating films by, for, and about people of color—and the MFA’s Sunset Cinema film series.

• Visit the galleries on a tour highlighting African American artists, whose works are on view in the Museum, and hear from Chanel Thervilduring her Artist Talk at 5:30 pm as she discusses representations of blackness, the relationships between figures and abstractions, and the techniques used in her work.

• Watch performances by The Front Porch Arts Collective, Valerie Stephens and the OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center.

• How can intersectionality lead to liberation? Join Boston-area thinkers, entrepreneurs, activists, city officials and artists for a City Talks discussion tackling this question and commemorating the MFA’s Juneteenth event. Moderated by Trina Jackson, activist and facilitator. Panelists include Cagen Luse, artist and entrepreneur, with additional panelists announced soon.

Juneteenth is supported by the John E. & Sue M. Jackson Charitable Trust.

Breakwater Reading Series at Brookline Booksmith

Join Brookline Booksmith for a night of new fiction, nonfiction and poetry from the MFA candidates of Boston University, Emerson College, and UMass Boston.

The Breakwater Reading Series is Boston’s inter-MFA program showcase, featuring student writers from Boston University, Emerson College, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston performing the best in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.  Six fresh voices read in each installment of this popular series, presented by the Graduate Writing Department at UMass-Boston. Readings are held at Brookline Booksmith, one of Boston’s most wonderful independent bookstores, at 7pm on the third Friday of every month from September through June.

The event is always free and open to the public and regularly draws an audience of 60+ attendees from the Boston community.