Interpreting East Somerville: Interpreting East Somerville Opens

23 November 2008

Interpreting East Somerville Opens

First, HUGE THANKS to everyone who came out Thursday evening for our Opening Reception!

There was a great crowd of participating artists, neighbors, media, Somerville luminaries, and art lovers. It was wonderful to experience such energy and support and interest from the community. A good time seems to have been had by all, what with making new friends and getting the first opportunity to tour the exhibition.

We hope that you will find the chance to come enjoy the diverse work of all of the talented photographers exhibiting (43 in all!). Early reviews (as well as eavesdropping on conversations at the Reception) have been great.

The Exhibition will run through January 2009.

We will be adding notes here as they come up. If you have any suggestions or comments about how we utilize this site, please let us know. (We're still trying to decide how much web stuff is needed.)

Ideas Behind This Exhibition

We would talk to 10 people and get 10 different answers . .

It's colorful, it's grey, it's funky, it's staid, there's nothing new, everything is changing, they love it, they hate it, they would only pass through, they would never leave.

And we realized that East Somerville, like our world itself, is whatever you say it is. And however you see it. Now we are inviting you to come see it, and show it, and tell it as only you can. It is there for everyone to see. But only you can see it as you do.

The subject of this groundbreaking exhibition is one place in one city on the map. But it is your expression of this one subject that will become the works of art that are created and exhibited.

Whether an exercise in sharing secrets or reveling in discoveries, your interpretation will create the narrative that is this living and evolving neighborhood.

The Neighborhood

Comprising most of the eastern third of Somerville, Massachusetts, the neighborhood of East Somerville is the mostly densely populated section of this most densely populated city in New England.

Historically a working class neighborhood, East Somerville is a vibrant mash-up of contradictions and confluences. Growing Central American, Brazilian, and Haitian communities jostle for space alongside the byways and commercial strips of this eclectic district with families and businesses that have remained in the neighborhood for generations.

Whether for reasons of class or ethnicity or generation or something else, the neighborhood carries with it the vibe of a place separated. So close to the gleaming towers of downtown Boston, yet somehow distant. A part of the trendy booming city of Somerville, but somehow not. Two shops sharing a common doorway, yet worlds apart. Despite these curious disconnects, East Somerville stands out as an uncommonly friendly and gregarious and open place. This peculiar dynamic creates a unique and fascinating district unlike any other in the region.

East Somerville continues to evolve as an organic urban creature that can reveal both it's crassness and it's gentle grace within a matter of a few steps. And each new day, the neighborhood awakens as its own diverse manifestation of the lives and perspectives that become a part of it.

23 November 2008

Interpreting East Somerville Opens

InterpretingESO@hotmail.com

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Press and Media

View The Call To Participate

The Venue

Ideas Behind This Exhibition

The Neighborhood

Transportation Links

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