Fort Point Open Studios Returns This Weekend
Featuring work by more than 80 artists and designers
Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss’ temporary installation Shimmer, located on the Congress Street Bridge, is part of the Spring 2016 Open Studios. Photo courtesy of Silvia Stagg-Giuliano
Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood is home to one of New England’s most vibrant arts communities, and this weekend you can meet more than 80 local artists in person courtesy of the twice-yearly Fort Point Open Studios. Artists, craftspeople, and designers host visitors in their private work spaces, free and open to the public, allowing guests to learn about how the artists work and to buy original paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and more. Public art installations, some temporary, some permanent, will also be on display. The weekend will also include participatory art workshops, live music performances, poetry readings, and film premieres.
A select number of studios and galleries will be open on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. for the Open Studios preview, and on Saturday and Sunday all of the participating studios and galleries will be open to the public from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free, so it’s an ideal opportunity for art lovers to explore the area and meet the artists who live there.
Fort Point is in the burgeoning Seaport District, and its transformation from an industrial neighborhood to an enclave for artists began in the 1970s. Artists were drawn by the large warehouse spaces and affordable rent. Today, the Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC), which sponsors the biannual Open Studios, comprises more than 300 painters, sculptors, designers, photographers, craftspeople, dancers, musicians, and performing artists.
The Spring 2016 Open Studios will include a diverse cross section of artists. Among those participating is painter and teacher Lisa Knox, who draws inspiration from the sea, clothing designer Amy Nguyen, who makes Japanese-inspired textiles, and jewelry designer Jeanne Rayburn, who specializes in enamel and metalwork. The artists will show their work in their studios and in Fort Point galleries. A full list of artists and their locations can be found here.
Among the permanent public art installations on view is Starry Night, an LED light display that adorns the A Street underpass, by artist Lisa Greenfield and Daniel J. van Ackere, and PYR2014, a pyramid of Boson cobblestones that floats on the harbor, by Don Eyles. Also on display will be temporary installations like Why Chromasome, by Lindsay Baer, which uses mannequins to explore the concepts of desirability and gender, and Shimmer, by Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss, which uses jewel-toned plexiglass to embellish the Congress Street Bridge.
Other scheduled Open Studios events include an artist talk and off loom beading demonstration, with materials provided by local jeweler Souther, at the Made in Fort Point Store on Friday, from 4 to 7 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 3 p.m., a Kids Corner will be at the Midway Artists Studios #204, where artist Kevin Ferreira will teach kids about stop-motion animation, scratch programming, and how to build their own Lego robot.
The Fort Point Open Studios starts today, Friday, June 17, from 4 to 7 p.m., and continues Saturday and Sunday, June 18 and 19, from noon to 6 p.m.; it is free and open to the public. Free parking is available at the central parking lot across from 249 A Street, access via Binford Street. Find directions here. The Spring 2016 brochure includes a map, event details, and a complete list of artists.
Liz Vanderau can be reached at vanderau@bu.edu.
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