From the Publisher – November 2023
Joy, Hope, and Sorrow
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
— Mother Teresa
This letter has been challenging to pull together. I want to talk about the meaning of art during difficult times and yet I have no words with which to describe these particular “difficult times.”
I take a lot for granted. I work in the arts, always have. I have encountered, throughout my career in theater and publishing, tolerance, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and acceptance of others. Regardless of who they are, where they’re from or what form of religious or artistic expression speaks to them. I am so grateful to publish a platform for these diverse voices and during times of such pain and suffering, it’s even more important to re-commit these pages to the work of artists and makers who perpetuate the same values I have come to take for granted. Within the work you create and write and perform, we are free. We are united. And we are creating awareness.
Awareness furthers education. Education furthers change. Change furthers action. And it begins with art.
As we approach this season of joy, gathering and celebrating, it may be harder to find the spirit of the season. I’m sure we all know someone who is directly touched by the war in the Middle East. My closest friend’s son lives in Tel Aviv. Matt and his partner, Yoav, are rabbinical students. They’ve chosen to stay and are working to support soldiers and may soon oversee funerals. Matt is a writer and is chronicling his experiences, as he should. There is joy and purpose in their work.
As I flip through these pages online one last time before uploading, I am finding the spirit of the season—the true spirit of the season—within the exhibitions, events, lectures, and performances scheduled over the next few months. Through words, canvases, and song, artists are connecting us to ourselves. To our spirituality and our humanity. What greater gift—or joy—can there be.
Within this issue, Shanta Lee offers an incredible conversation into the definition of Afrofuturism. It’s part one of a two-part story. Kelly Holt takes us into the magical world of Vermont’s Bread and Puppet Theater. Loren King shares her review of Invisible Beauty—fashion icon Bethann Hardison’s journey as a Black model, activist and change maker. Jennifer Mancuso introduces us to the charcoal sketches and watercolors of Boston-based artist Ibrahim Ali-Salaam. Alix Woodford highlights the artistic evolution of Nancy Cohen and her transformative residencies at MacDowell. Amy Lilly interviews master printmaker Dan Welden, whose 100th career exhibition, Solo 100, is happening at Brattleboro’s Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts. Carl Little reviews John Yau’s latest release, Please Wait by the Coatroom: Reconsidering Race and Identity in American Art. And Julianna Thibodeaux sat down with Ruth Mordecai to discuss her more than fifty-year career and her new series of work entitled “The Kiss,” which delves into profound love and loss. The Kiss 7 graces this cover, capturing the essence and power of both feelings, reminding us how they’re intertwined, and how we belong to each other. How we all belong to each other.
These are just a few highlights. Our Reviews and Exhibition Listings sections will have you on the road much of this holiday season. There is so much to experience. Art New England exists to inspire learning and to spark a little wanderlust. Visit that pocket of New England you have never heard of. Read about that artist whose work mystifies you; check out that new documentary. I hope you will all take time this holiday season to sit with art. Hang out in a museum or gallery. Attend a concert or play. Bring your poems to an open mic night. Read a book for a few hours. Or listen to a choir echo through a cathedral or a tiny church. Listen to what art has to tell you. Expand your worldview. For therein lies the joy and the hope for change. And the hope for peace on Earth.
This issue is dedicated to those helping us understand one another through their art.
We’ll see you in the new year.
In gratitude,
Rita A. Fucillo
Publisher