I spent some time working in New York City a few years ago. It had a profound effect on me. At the end of my stay, I felt homesick for a place that was basically unknown to me six months before. I’ve been in and out of love with it ever since. Time has been kind with opportunities, but certain scars run deep. So with the right song, I feel waves of nostalgia wash over me. I close my eyes, and I’m there. I’m back. Walking around Times Square, too broke to do anything but watch. My feet know that I now walk in Massachusetts, but my soul knows better.

The Big Apple has been the subject of many songs over the years – some as ubiquitous as an I Love New York t-shirt, others as forgettable as yesterday’s “New York Times” headlines. There lies a balance between the two, where one finds songs that are emotionally moving, picturesque, and just dirty enough – a fitting reflection of the city that never sleeps.

Close your eyes and you are transported. Down the alleyways of Hell’s Kitchen. Deep within the outer boroughs. A corner in the Port Authority by way of New Jersey. On the express A-train heading uptown. In a dimly-lit dive. At once an individual and an organic compound of the greater crowd en masse.

With that, a list of songs about New York City that you may not have heard before. Maybe one will do to you what it does to me. Stop what you’re doing. Push play. Close your eyes. I’ll meet you at 27th and 6th.

1. Steely Dan – “Black Cow” (Aja, 1977)

“In the corner of my eye / I saw you in Rudy’s / You were very high”

Though it is never mentioned by name, the mention of Rudy’s makes New York a likely setting for this end to a drugged-out love affair. Somewhere around Midtown Manhattan, you’ll find an inconspicuous pink pig offering free hot dogs and limited seating – Rudy’s Bar and Grill. 

While a pink pig might not be a black cow, there are more than a few clippings in the window that mentioned Steely Dan. Lyrically, a band that is conversational. Dry and sardonic. The nerve of some people to wander Manhattan in a heartbroken stupor. Go about your personal business in a timely manner, but more importantly, “drink your big black cow, and get outta here.” Words that have flowed from behind many lunch counters in New York City. P.S. – You might recognize the bass line from a more recent ode to New York: Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz – “Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)”.

2. Prince – “All The Critics Love U In New York” (1999, 1983)

Hear it here.

“They won’t say that you’re naive / If you play what you  believe / In New York”

A New Wave workout that is at once sneering and optimistic, “All The Critics Love U In New York” oozes what it’s like to be on the outside [on your way] in. Whether you’re coming from Minneapolis, Atlanta, or Boston, New York City feels like a living, breathing beast. It sizes you up from the moment you enter the Holland Tunnel or cross the George Washington Bridge. Prince knows this, but he doesn’t care. He knows that what he’s importing from the Mid-West is a beast of its own. And that’s the way I carried myself when living in Manhattan. Everyone is a critic, and everyone is unique, and everyone can do whatever they want – in New York.

3. Music for Animals – “Nervous In New York (Wallpaper. Remix)” (Wallpaper. Mixtape, 2010)

Hear it here. 

“I’m trapped on the underground / East Side on my way downtown / Bright lights hypnotize / Blue pills dilate my eyes”

Certain songs sound like New York City. From the moment I stepped off of the Bolt bus into Midtown, I felt this song. I understood it. It’s like a carnival ride that never stops moving. You just jump in and hope you don’t get too beat up. My wallet was full of moths and fortunes. Instead of grabbing some plastic, I grabbed my iPod and walked. All over Manhattan. You can hear it walking past the Port Authority. You’re a little nervous. The synths stab, but they don’t hurt. You feel you’ll lose your grip at any minute, but you manage to hang on. Everyone is nervous in new york. So underneath, at all times, a driving, steady beat. You can feel it in your step. You may not hail from Bay Ridge, but try not to strut like Travolta to this groove.

4. Gregory Porter – “On My Way To Harlem” (Be Good, 2012)

“You can’t keep me away from where I was born / I was baptized by the jazz man’s horn”

Jazz has always made me feel New York, above any other city. Whether the cool, modal blues on Kind of Blue or the hot, chromatic fusion of Headhunters,  I see the avenues of New York. The birthplace of many jazz greats, and the residency of many others. You hear stories of Miles Davis walking through a revolving hotel door, and the world temporarily revolving around him. Your favorite artists snuck into clubs to hear them play. You dig through crates to find the deepest of cuts, the deepest of grooves. Gregory Porter captures that. Hear the horns paint a sonic picture of Harlem. Of New York. Of jazz. Whether you’re born and raised, a transplant, or a tourist, you can see the notes fill the air. I found out on my way to Harlem…

 5. LCD Soundsystem – “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” (Sound of Silver, 2007)

“Our records all show you are filthy but fine”

 As the weather got colder and time made me older, so did the vibe. This is a song that will mean something different for a New Yorker than for a transplant. That aside, James Murphy’s ode to post-9/11 New York City goes from sincere to sarcastic with each line. A reflection of the millions of attitudes contain within. As the song swings on, the underlying aggression grows until it boils over. And then, it comes to an end. Or does it…

“Dawnamatrix and I are competitors, have a lot of the same clients so I messaged her and said we should do a show together to squash the competition,” said designer Ashley Rose. “The show fit my theme, not your traditional runway show.”

Ashley Rose started designing in high school and fell in love with the craft. She went on to attend fashion school in Boston and mentor under a wedding dress designer.

“That’s where I got the sweet fitted heart top and ruffles, because I had to do that perfectly,” Ashley Rose said.

Although her work is still influenced by her past apprenticeship, she has found her own style now and prefers to design garments the way that she wants to rather than designing for someone else.

“I honestly like doing my own thing. I like doing what I like to make. So I changed my name from Ashley Rose Custom Designs to Ashley Rose Couture Designs because that’s the direction I want to go in,” said Ashley Rose.

While Ashley Rose pulls inspiration from thematic couture designers such as Alexander McQueen, Dawn from Dawnamatrix Designs is inspired by two very different mediums—computer graphics and Japanese designs.

“[In college] I was majoring in computer animation but it wasn’t calling to me, fashion was calling to me,” said Dawn. “16 year later I went to Pratt for new media and finding ways to combine the digital age and the digital aesthetic with fashion and that’s where we have Dawnamatrix fashion. We have these beautiful women who have become these living graphic designs through the bold colors and patterns and textures we see in the latex.”

Dawnamatrix Designs center around texture. She strives to broaden the way people view certain materials.

“We’ve been working a lot with textures—dragon scales, snakeskin, leopard print, we’d like to push that further. We are working on latex that glows and black lights so it becomes almost like an alien skin…So really working with the textures where as normally you think of latex as smooth and shiny we take that further to show how versatile it is as a material,” said Dawn.

Both uniquely different designers came together to put on a cohesive and entertaining fashion show. The audience seemed elated and enthused as each garment made its way down the runway followed by a life-sized rabbit dancing through the aisles.

“I was surprised at how quickly the tickets were sold. I’m excited, that’s what motivates me, I have people who support me,” said Ashley Rose.

This year IDentity Festival at this date consisted of three stages, iHome Main stage, Rockstar Stage and Together stage. The iHome stage is where the artists draw the most crowd’s attention in the massive amphitheater. The Rockstar stage is runners up for the next big one, directly placed on the hot pavement of the Comcast Center. Lastly Boston based company Together (who put on Together Festival in Boston with sponsors such as Koalacore Clothing),  this year Together decided to sponsor the Together stage, which is placed so conveniently on a lot with a mixture of grass, dirt and tree roots with pines that are well over 50 years worth of aging on them, this stage covered with djs for the first year with local talent.  In this lot is where Koalacore Clothing is hanging out and staying “cool” in the 80% humidity for the day with 77 degree weather.

We started with setting up the booth next to Vincent Gorden, an artist and painter who attended the entirety of the Identity Festival tour 2011 along with Koalacore Clothing. Everyone greets each other with hugs and handshakes.  The excitement in their voices and the look in each other’s eyes ensure they all know that they signed up to a month sentence to the road and the tour. Both living on the road from July 26 from Mansfield, MA to August 19 and ending in Phoenix, AZ. The chemistry between the two is similar to an endless brother/sister bond relationship. Once you do a tour, you have that family to go back to the following year and take you in with open arms.  Both drive off of passion, love and unity and respect for the art, time and crafts they put into to make this possible each year.

The preparation requires lots of budgeting and planning. To attend to this lifestyle takes up almost as much time and money as a baby.   The personalities at this date were very warm, welcoming and inviting. Fans were celebrating that local heroes in the Boston scene, Koalacore Clothing, made it to such calibers this year to upgrade from one booth to two.  Last year Koalacore Clothing was birthed at Identity Festival with only 100 fans and this year they have been multiplied in the thousands, and sales have nearly quintupled that of last year. With more experienced and understanding of how a tour is run,  driving a new  Jeep Cherokee with a trailer attached at the rear, Koalacore is more hungry than ever to take over the United States with their clothing.

–2pm rolled along and soon every stage was filled with music and the grounds were covered as if there was a colony of ants working the grounds.

The first artist to watch was Audrey Napoleon on the iHome Main Stage at 2:45 P.M.

The audience looked like an ocean of swimming “neon fish”.  Guys and girls alike, swinging their hips, legs and arms up and down dancing around as if stuck in a permanent seizure shock.  Audrey threw her hands in the air, pouncing on stage and bouncing to her beat along with the audience.  Their she stood with her long brown hair and dark eyeshadow, black high waist couture hot shorts and a black laced bra, she was throwing herself around with all the energy her 100 pound 5 foot 6 body with added height thanks to her platform black heels could offer.

Audrey met up around 5pm that day to sit down and have a conversation. She got her start playing at the Avalon about 4 years ago thanks to DJ and Producer James Zabiela. As child she grew up listening to her dad play the drums and trumpet. He finally bought her first guitar for her when she was thirteen and learned how to play Depeche Mode, The Cure and Kraftwerk, meanwhile her mother made clothes. “They both naturally integrated into each others lives eventually” said Audrey.

She has been all across the world with her music and still feels cultured about being American listening to techno. “ Every time I play I’m a nervous wreck before I get on stage, I feel like I need to rush to get out there; the day I stop feeling like this I might as well quit”

The EDM (Electronic Dance Musice) Scene has been flooded out with many major male influences for DJ’s. Just recently more women have been coming out and getting noticed. For Audrey she has a few things to be said about being in this new-involved movement “ Being a woman, I love being a woman. I love making music, and pretty much gender just goes away, disappears when you’re making something to listen too.  The magic of the music, it’s the only way you can feel raw and real emotions, it’s something very abstract. Something you just can’t ball.  Art comes in many different forms; it can come from trackers, controllers, different channel mixers or even reverbs.   My start was on vinyl then moved to Toronto and worked with an everything, tried it out and got hooked.”

After a while of working on multiple songs, Heineken decided to use her song in a commercial. “ I was in Milan, and got the call they needed to do a new cut for the commercial, 164 edits of the song later, it ended up the way it is now.”

Audrey’s ultimate goal with her producing is “play electronic music” and advises anyone looking into making this a career to “be true to yourself, be true to your art, as long as you do the work to the top.”

She then explained the toughest obstacle she’s had to face on tour is getting her name out there. She first started waving her name around town and got her name out there, doing what you have to do– She ran around giving cds to the promoters, getting to know them, just to make them more interested in her. She let them get to know the real girl behind the jet-black with straight sharp bang first, and finally it opened the door of listening to her masterpieces. “They gave me a chance, didn’t become friends just for them to listen to my work, I just realized there is a lot of haters out there when people don’t know who you really are. By not focusing on the negative and more so on the song, you can improve. If you are not questioning it is not done right. That positive outlook will get you places.”

We parted ways with Audrey and headed back to the Koala Tent, just in time to watch the rest of local DJ’s, White Rabbit tear it up on the Together stage.

As the day was winding down, working on setting up interviews for the upcoming tour dates and uploading photos I had the opportunity to talk/write   to Joey Fisher from “The Bolivian Marching Affair” local artist and dj with a growing reputation in the Boston scene (Joey lost his voice due to multiple dj gigs along the week, that I actually had to have him type up all the answers to the questions I wanted to ask him).

Starting out as an emcee and desiring a change from the typical local music scene, playing guitar, to drums and being a vocalist djing came pretty easy for him “ I feel blessed to have had it happen.” said Joey.  Following the EDM scene since the 90’s and getting involved he had a lot of growth to see what direction the music scene was taking. “It’s not underground anymore, it’s everywhere; radio, TV, EVERYWHERE… a lot of people hate it, I think it’s awesome.  We’ve come from underground raves to thousands of people festivals and huge shows, it’s absolutely incredible the growth of what it’s become.”

Working with a fellow friend like Chris, and influences like Martin Solveig, Steve Angelo to Chris Barlow, Skrillex, Nero and Pendulum,  they observed and listened to everything from trance music to punk and hardcore. The drum and bass in these genres has had a lot of influences in the sound of the music that is produced and dj’ed. “The creative process just comes natural in my head, I hear stuff and I get my ideas out. My brain never stops, I‘m always thinking about how I can write better or make better sounds and come up with something new and creative. “

Joey left us with some words of encouragement “don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something that you want to do. If you want it then go for it with everything you’ve got. There will be haters; there will be fans but do what will make YOU happy. Don’t let anyone bring you down or stop you.”

As quick as the blink of eye, with a closing set from our own Ricky Sanchez,  it was the end of day one of Identity Festival 2012. Packed up the trailor like newbie’s to the road and headed out to a friends to stay for the night to get ready for our last showers until who know’s when, and get some shut eye for a couple hours before the Wantaugh, NY tourdate.

Support these artists and dj’s at the following links:

Identity Festival: http://idfestival.com/

Koalacore Clothing: http://www.koalacoreclothing.com

The Fine Art of Vincent Gorden: http://www.vincentgordon.info/

Koalacore Clothing: http://www.koalacoreclothing.com

Audrey Napoleon: http://www.audreynapoleon.com/

The Bolivian March Affair: www.facebook.com/tbmaboston

When we last met with Mark Cordell in February he was wrapped in his dark, twisted fantasy; designing clothes with a gothic, sinister edge. A month ago Cordell was featured in the Tent at Boston Fashion Week and it was evident that his designs had gone through an evolution.  Although still daring, with a more punk influence, Cordell’s designs integrated vibrant colors and a playful air that hadn’t been present in his last show. His skull prints, kilts and colorful contrasts made his designs unique and stand out from the more traditional collections of other designers shown that week.

“My last collection came from a darker place and I wanted to bring it back to a more youthful feel. [This time] it was all about the trends, it was all about the pop of color in the orange and blue, it was all about the silhouette and being comfortable and I used the edginess to balance out the pieces,” Cordell said.

Every detail contributed to the playful and bold aura of the designs, down to the makeup, which turned each model into a theatrical two-faced character in Cordell’s warped fashion play.  The make-up and rimmed hats gave off a Clockwork Orange feel of the young, restless and easily tempted.

“When you were younger and your mom was looking, you were good, and when she wasn’t looking you were bad. I wanted to play on that,” Cordell said.

In order for Cordell to go out of his comfort zone and stretch himself as a designer he tried his hand at designing pieces he had never designed before.  This was his first time designing denim and reinventing 70′s style shirts.

“I hope that [the audience] enjoyed the clothes, that it made them happy,” said Cordell. “As long as they felt the pieces then that’s all that matters.”

Cordell said when thinking about his new collection he became stuck. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to bring to Boston Fashion Week. A friend told him to take a moment to look at the sunset and in the end he found his inspiration in the melting colors.

“I saw the sun setting and got lost in it and imagined a guy who had lost his way, who evolved from a boy to a mature man and still stayed true to himself. That was the story of the collection,” Cordell said.

Learn more about Mark Cordell and his designs here.

Avni Trivedi looked relieved while sitting in the Mandarin Oriental hotel bar booth after her show at the Tent during Boston Fashion Week. She had a smile on her face as she spoke.

“I’m relaxed and excited, the collection team put a lot of work into this,” she said.

Avni’s designs are all made from handcrafted fabrics from the villages in Gujarat, India, the region she is originally from. She designs for an older woman in search of simple, classy and comfortable pieces.

“[This collection] is simplicity with the Avni flare,” she said, “It’s designed for someone who likes elegance at any point in the their day and wants to be chic and classy from day to night.”

The show opened with a theatrical cultural drum show, followed by the simple pieces decorated by the long, natural braided hairstyles and practical silver shoes.

“I hope the audience takes a ways the essence of the collection,” she said.

Avni’s clothes are sold all around the country as well as Canada. She hopes to continue to expand her influence.

“We have a showroom in Beacon Hill,” she said, “We want to get our retail moving in Boston.”

Learn more about Avni’s designs here

via billboard.biz: “MySpace’s Third Act: Why The Social Network Is Doubling Down On Music For Its Latest Incarnation”

The new Myspace is aiming to fill the void in music discovery yet to be filled by Facebook, Twitter and even Spotify, and many industry executives and artists are ready to give it their backing.

After unveiling a splashy two-minute video previewing its new design on Sept. 24, Myspace began opening up its new private beta to select artists and label executives to give the music industry a chance to help shape its new look. Though it’s still very early days, several key music industry executives who spoke with Billboard like what they’ve seen — which is much-needed good news for Myspace, a property practically left for dead when it was acquired by its third owner in seven years, Specific Media, for $35 million in 2011, far short of the $580 million that News Corp. paid in 2005.

The Third Act. Synonymous with the final stage, the final plot twists, the consequent, the end. Pretty grim, isn’t it? The fat lady, bloated with spam and too much HTML, sings a swan song, hoping somebody will listen. But there isn’t a single active user in the audience, not one Tom.

How many iterations of MySpace have there been? More to the point, how many have there been since you’ve stopped paying attention? For a while, they got rid of the Space. Apparently there was too much of it. All of that “My” got pretty lonely with no one to play with, so they brought the Space back. This time, they underlined it. In Space, no one can hear you scream. No one can hear the fat lady sing. Because no one is listening.

I could pull up all sorts of graphs showing MySpace’s traffic, but I would be telling you something you already know: MySpace is dead. A former power-horse in the digital age, now reduced to a profile graveyard.

The Billboard article mentioned above discusses MySpace’s most recent reinvention – this time, a focus on music.
Except that is the same reinvention from a few years ago.

The article also implies that there is a “music discovery void” unfilled by Twitter, Facebook, and Spotify.
This is ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous. Spotify IS music discovery. It has a fantastic interface, mobile and Mac/PC support, integration with relevant social networks, and a (slightly) monetized system for artists.

The best part about a service like Spotify? When you hear the name, you don’t have a bad taste in your mouth from high school. From angled bathroom-mirror pictures. From bloated HTML-ified profile pages with five different embedded players. Spotify is a fresh experience. We heard about it for months in the United States while Europe was awash in high-quality, legal, streaming music. We could look but not touch or listen. When Spotify finally cleared all legal hurdles domestically, the flood gates opened.

I. LOVE. SPOTIFY.

Maybe you don’t, but I bet you hate(d) MySpace. Which brings me to my main point:

Once or service is considered uncool/passé, there’s nothing you can do to bring it back. The natural tides of fashion nostalgia ebb and flow as the waistline on pants rise and fall, but can you think of a service-based product that has bounced back from the dregs? I can’t.

Nobody jumped back with Ask when they got rid of Jeeves. Lycos ran away a long time ago, and instead of posting Lost Dog flyers, we just Google. AOL used to be the king of internet service providers. Once improved network technology arose, users found themselves locked in AOL’s steel-interface, under the watchful eye of 56K. Now, the AOL user base consists of luddites and those with no better option.

Xanga. LiveJournal. OpenDiary. Homestead. Angelfire.

All free services. All awesome in their moment. But when something easier to use, cleaner, faster, and more innovative comes along, there’s nothing you can do. Facebook took what MySpace did and made it better. There are no second chances when it comes to digital services in 2012. Users have seen the man behind the curtain; they know the secrets. If your service doesn’t hook them within the first page visit, you’ve lost.

We, the internet, are consumers on a massive scale. We absorb everything in sight and leave it behind as soon as we’ve had our fill.

So why go back to what you’ve grown sick of tasting, when there is so much more ahead?

Designer Cleons held his first New York Fashion show two weeks ago, revealing his line of edgy, batman-inspired line that was both revealing and daring.

The show began with a lackluster dance performance but was followed by Cleon’s  innovative and eye-catching designs. Although his womenswear is notable, his strength lies in his menswear with a talent for accentuating the male figure in a way that many Boston designers can not.

Cleons hopes to gain exposure from his show in New York and reach a broader audience.

“Designing is everything, it is my way of expressing myself,” he said after the show, as eager audience members came over to congratulate him.

Cleon’s uses social media to reach and connect with his fans. His Instagram, @cleonsclothing, features his designs, exclusive photos as well as images of his idol, Janet Jackson, who clearly has influenced his work. Much like a concert he hopes his fashion show stimulated the audience’s senses in a variety of ways.

“I want the audience to have an experience, I want them to see the show and think ‘this is different,” Cleons said.

A few weeks ago, Boston En Vogue’s Conrad Lamour brought Brazilian Fashion Week to Boston, kicking off the fall fashion season. There were several events during the week intended to celebrate culture and fashion but perhaps the most widely publicized and received event was the closing fashion show at the Taj Hotel.

The show featured local designers Andrea Kelliher, Karla Medina, Eva Assali, Yuki Kanai, Yanell Galva, Susan Phaily, Seneeca Wilson and of course, Conrad Lamour himself. The evening began with a traditional dance performance that sparked energy amongst the crowd.

The tempo changed swiftly as the show eased into the designer showcase and model after model walked by showing off the widely diverse garments.

The audience seemed almost too relaxed–sauntering across the runway and talking above the music as some noteworthy pieces went down the carpeted runway.

The show had a light and fun air about it, different from the serious aura of Boston En Vogue last year. All in all it was a nice night out and a chance to experience a taste of Boston fashion and Brazilian culture.

 It’s unfortunate that memories age: details fade into white background and leave you wondering if you really remember all the elements involved or…

colors combine as their edges touch and do not retain those hard, clean lines but trade them for blurred and distorted ripples.

And time begins to unravel around each- did this happen before or after…?

And, at some cruel point, the memories become washed out, forever… but hopefully not until your last breath.

I will say this, however, about memories: As much as they may fade, Sentiment and her force do not.

When you let a memory slip over your gaze, mist over your thoughts, and truly allow it to take you from the present happening- the feelings submersed along with it, return, in full.

And, when the memory is done clouding you from the present, it is again, Sentiment who is last to leave, lingering behind to keep you warm or cold or tranquil or enraged or… whatever was evoked.

My memories with you will fade but the spirit living inside each moment we shared will keep me warm, until I take my last breath.

R.I.P Cuong

Words by Bunni Morrill. Follow her 365 writing project here.

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Since 1995, The Art Connection has been donating original artwork to non-profit agencies in Boston. By connecting philanthropic artists and art collectors with agencies that would like art on their walls but cannot afford it, The Art Connection provides a medium for artwork donation that both the artist and the recipient appreciates. So far, The Art Connection has facilitated the donation of 5,675 original works of art from 375 artists and collectors and placed these pieces in 322 agencies.

“We believe that art belongs everywhere,” Program Manager Sarah Berry told LTM in an interview. “Places that do not have funding for art should be able to show their clients care by having artwork on the wall to promote their healing work. If they can’t afford it, that’s where we step in.”

“Our job is to help non-profit social service agencies become art collectors,” Executive Director Susan Collings stated. The Art Connection has placed artwork in community centers, teen empowerment agencies, drug rehab centers, community health clinics, assisted living homes, and other centers of public refuge, rehabilitation and assistance.

One benefactor is Pine Street Inn, a non-profit that aims to end homelessness in Boston by providing emergency shelter and permanent housing. “The Art Connection has given us 30 pieces that hang throughout our shelters, said Communications Manager Jennifer Harris. “In any place that our guests have access to, we’ve used The Art Connection to make it a more permanent environment, to make the spaces more beautiful for the people staying here at Pine Street.”

“We let [recipients] pick which art is most interesting, pleasant or accommodating to them in their setting,” according to Executive Director Collings. At any given time, The Art Connection has upwards of 800 works available for donation.

“Sometimes [agencies] pick challenging pieces, because their goal is not only the beautification of their space, but also to evoke thoughts and feelings when they look at the work. Agencies sometimes pick work that reflects the struggles their clients face so they can connect with the art.”

Staff of Volunteer Lawyers Project and Donating Artist Maria Termini at non-profit space where lawyers see clients pro bono. The two placards provided by The Art Connection represent The Art Connection’s effort to document the art installation and introduce to the agency that they are now a collector of original art. Maria Termini’s silkscreen, one of more than 300 she has offered for donation, is entitled Leaves and Gold.

According to Berry, the facilitation of art begins with an agency’s application. Upon receiving an application, The Art Connection visits the agency and assesses their need for art. “We also do a walk-through, where the staff will point out any areas they’ve envisioned for art and I help them to decide areas with the most impact where the most clients will see the work.”

If approved, The Art Connection returns to the agency for a placement visit. “We ask for six to ten people, including clients [of the recipient agencies] when appropriate, to be part of the selection process of the art,” Berry said. “We have a three-hour art selection meeting, with everyone sitting around the table making decisions about art. A lot of people don’t have art backgrounds, and it’s empowering for them to see that they can look at art and decide how it reflects their communities and resonates with them.”

“The Art Connection is bringing twenty-seven pieces of art to one of our new permanent housing locations in the South End, home to eighteen men and women,” Harris from Pine Street Inn told LTM. According to her, the tenants selected the paintings themselves. “They told us they were looking for peaceful pieces and beautiful pictures to really make the house feel more like a home,” she said. “All of those will go in the community rooms of the house in a couple weeks. The tenants were very excited and got very involved in the art selection process, which is great because it makes them feel a sense of ownership of the house.”

“By selecting the art themselves, the agencies express their own knowledge and care for their agency creatively,” Berry added. “[The art] turns spaces that are sometimes just blank walls on old buildings into colorful, vibrant, welcoming settings where people can come to receive care. This helps agencies show their clients that they matter, makes clients feel good and in some cases it gives them something to talk about.”

Staff and volunteers at The Art Connection.

However, painting recipients are not the only benefactors of The Art Connection. According to Collings, the process is just as valuable to the artists who donate their work as it is to the agencies that receive it. “We have taken a lot of the extra work out of having them be able to be philanthropic with their art and have the art end up out in the community so they can build audiences and feel good about having their art in spaces that would otherwise not have original art.”

It all started when artist Fay Chandler wanted to donate her art to underserved communities but was frustrated with the lack of framework available to the philanthropic artist.

“If [an artist] were to decide to give away a painting, they wouldn’t necessarily know where to give it to that would want it,” Collings pointed out. “The way our selection process works, it ends up in a place that has made that their choice to have that particular artist’s painting on their walls.”

Artists also appreciate the fact that The Art Connection does not get in the way of artists selling their work, as the art is  placed only in places where there is no budget for art. “We believe that art and the work of artists is important in society and our culture, and that places that can afford to buy art should definitely support artists and their work,” Berry said.

The Art Connection donating artist Ginny Zanger explains the process of her watercolor monotype, entitled Blue and Yellow Fish, to students and staff at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, MA.

As a 501(c)3 non-profit, The Art Connection needs to raise about $250,000 each year to support their current number staff, their office space and transportation to recipient agencies. When Collings joined The Art Connection two years ago as Executive Director, she focused on expanding the organization’s fundraising efforts and create more sources of revenue to increase the budget and improve sustainability. She writes countless grants each year and organizes fundraising events.

In March of this year, the organization raised $20,000 at a fundraiser that was in keeping with their mission, called Bingo for Art. “We received twelve works of art by artists willing to donate their work, and then we had an event that literally people played twelve games of Bingo, with the prize being an original work of art,” Collings said. She plans to do the same event in a larger facility next year, as they sold out two weeks before the event.

Besides fundraising, Collings is also busy spreading The Art Connection’s mission to other areas. “We’re working very actively on an expansion process that takes the idea of the art connection and how we place art out in the public, and replicates it in other cities,” she stated.

After seventeen years of connecting artists and art collectors with community service organization through the placement of original artwork, The Art Connection has become a model for other organizations that would like to provide this service, because of the huge impact it has made within Boston. “We put art in places where people go when they’re really down and out,” Berry said. “I think the impact of having artwork in a place like that is to show that no matter who you are, no matter where you are, you can connect with something beautiful.”