BOSTON, MA – September 16, 2024 — Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is thrilled to announce 16 new BCA Studio Residents this September. And just as thousands of others in the Boston area this month, they are busy moving in and orienting themselves to their new campus!
This fall’s incoming group of local artists works within and across mediums, varying from public art to painting to media arts. As part of the program’s fourth cohort, these artists will join an existing diverse community of 31 second- and third-year residents. Each of the incoming residents brings a practice of artmaking that centers innovative cultural expression, and intersections of social, gender, and racial justice.
For the first time in the history of the program, these 16 three-year residencies are fully subsidized by a generous $300,000 grant from Wagner Foundation, marking a significant first step in the broader $1.5m fundraising initiative to sustain and expand this vital artist-focused program at BCA.
The entering 16 artists, four of whom belong to a collective, are: Beatriz Whitehill, DOE, JB183, Mar, SOEMS, Emily Rose, Feda Eid, Funlola Coker, Heather Kapplow, Ifé Franklin, IMAGINE aka Sneha Shrestha, Maggie Wong, Mark A. Hernandez Motaghy, Marla L. McLeod, Ngoc-Tran Vu, and Yuko Okabe.
BCA has a rich history of fostering creative communities through groundbreaking residency, exhibition, and performance programs. Inaugurated in Summer 2021, the cross- and multidisciplinary BCA Studio Residency program is designed to foster and support access, equity, and experimentation in the arts and in new art being created in Boston. The program provides selected artists with work-only studio space and access to a roster of programs and professional support geared toward nurturing a vibrant and diverse community of artists in Boston.
The funding this year’s cohort has received from Wagner Foundation means that we can make real strides in the work of creating greater equity and opportunity for Boston-area artists for whom financial support and artistic community come at a catalytic moment in their practice.
We are so thrilled to support these artists in furthering their studio practice and making Greater Boston a place for creative community to thrive. Artists are essential to healthy communities, and for that to happen, they need affordable creative spaces to expand their practices, build their networks, and reach new audiences. We can’t wait to see what they will do.
Abigail Satinksy
Program Officer and Curator, Art & Culture
Wagner Foundation
“BCA is thrilled to welcome another exciting and diverse group of new resident artists, and we can’t wait to see their art practices continue to flourish as they create together within the BCA artist community. We remain deeply grateful to the Wagner Foundation for their generous three-year support, which will provide these artists with the essential resources to build and enrich our cultural and artistic life and make Boston a place where artists can thrive.” — Kristi Keefe, CEO, Boston Center for the Arts
Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is a performing and visual arts complex whose mission is to support working artists to create, perform, and exhibit new work; and connect arts to community. Established in 1970 to serve as a hub for visual and performing arts for the people of Boston, the BCA was founded on the belief that the arts contribute to the economic and social well-being of citizens and neighborhoods. Today, BCA supports over 300 artists annually and provides more than 50 residencies, hosts more than 30 community events, 20 theater productions, 5 visual art exhibitions, and welcomes more than 200,000 visitors to its South End campus. To learn more about Boston Center for the Arts, visit bostonarts.org
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