Katherine Taylor asks the subjects of her photographic project, Masks of Boston, "Who do you wear a mask for?" It's a way of emphasizing the community connection inherent in the masks - now ubiquitous due to COVID-19. Here, she discusses the trajectory of the project, her approach to the portraits, and her outdoor socially-distanced studio. As a photojournalist who … [Read more...]
Artist Voices
Highlighting the work and voices of individual artists.
Shilpi Suneja: Writing a Silent History
Shilpi Suneja's (Fiction/Creative Nonfiction Fellow '18) novel-in-progress A House of Caravans remembers a history that's often been silent. The story is inspired by Suneja's grandfather's experience during The Partition of India in 1947, when the British Indian Empire was divided into India and Pakistan. Suneja says the disruption it caused still shapes the sociocultural … [Read more...]
Nicole Terez Dutton: Building Poems
Language is plastic, so it's always building, it's always expanding. It always can be made to accommodate new ideas. - Nicole Terez Dutton On the Mass Cultural Council's Creative Minds Out Loud podcast, Nicole Terez Dutton (Poetry Finalist '20) discusses how she has used poetry to connect with community as a poet, teacher, editor, and the inaugural Poet Laureate of the … [Read more...]
L’Merchie Frazier: The Quilted Path
The narrative that we've created in America doesn't contain enough of the everyday people... who are ordinary like me but doing extraordinary things. - L'Merchie Frazier On the Mass Cultural Council's Creative Minds Out Loud podcast, L'Merchie Frazier discusses how art can be transformative to the community members she works with. "My work is centered on speaking out … [Read more...]
Alexis Ivy: What Counts
Alexis Ivy (Poetry Fellow '18) can't get away from poetry. It informs her work in social justice, working with homeless populations. Even when she writes in different literary forms, the focus and specificity of poetry carries over. In this audio clip, Ivy reads her poem Taking the Homeless Census. She also discusses the poem's origin as well as the way creativity, social … [Read more...]