Banner Arts & Culture
Sponsored by Cruz Companies
It’s been a banner year (pun intended) in the Boston arts scene. Heading into 2025, we’re looking back at some of our most notable arts stories from 2024. In both local and national categories, diverse stories shone.
Visual Arts
Lorraine O’Grady: Both/And at the Davis Museum of Wellesley College
Conceptual artist and Roxbury native Lorraine O’Grady explored gender, class and race in this retrospective at the Davis Museum. O’Grady reflects on four decades of work in photography, performance, installation, writing, collage and video.
Lorraine O’Grady (American, born 1934). Miscegenated Family Album (Sisters I), L: Nefernefruaten Nefertiti; R: Devonia Evangeline O’Grady, 1980/1994. Cibachrome photographs, 26 × 37 in. (66.04 × 93.98 cm). Edition of 8 plus 1 artist’s proof. © Lorraine O’Grady/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
LaToya M. Hobbs: It’s Time at the Harvard Art Museums
Standout artist LaToya M. Hobbs stunned viewers with this large-scale woodcut series reflecting on the hectic nature of contemporary life and the things that deserve our time and attention. The series “Carving Out Time” featured scenes of her family and cameos of work by famous Black artists.
Firelei Báez at the ICA Boston
The first U.S. survey of Dominican artist Firelei Báez paid particular attention to her paintings, with homage paid to her immersive installations as well. Báez’s vibrant, energetic work probes colonial histories and other racial themes.
Theater
Jennifer Mogbock plays the leading role in The Huntington Theatre production of “Toni Stone.” PHOTO: Nile Hawver
‘Toni Stone’ from The Huntington
Toni Stone was the first woman to play regularly in a major-level professional baseball league. This poignant play tells her story and the challenges she faced as a woman and a person of color while pursuing her dream.
‘Morning, Noon, and Night’ from Company One Theatre
Written by local playwright Kirsten Greenidge, this production reflects on technology and post-pandemic trauma through the lens of a mother-daughter relationship. Women of two different generations navigate the challenges of the global shift while trying to find their way back to each other.
Cast members strike a pose in rehearsal for “A Strange Loop.” (from left) Grant Evan, Kai Clifton, Jonathan Melo and Zion Middleton PHOTO: NILE SCOTT STUDIOS
‘A Strange Loop’ from Speakeasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective
Dorchester native Kai Clifton slayed as Usher in this musical about a creative grappling with his desires and identity and the pressures and judgments of the outside world. While attempting to write a musical, Usher battles with self-doubt, interacting with a sassy and outspoken cast of characters who represent his thoughts.
Dance
‘Sankofa’ from Herbert Major and the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts
A mélange of dance, song and spoken word, “Sankofa” is a show that’s been performed annually at the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts since 2016. The performance takes the audience through a progression of Black history illustrated through music and dance.
Ellice Patterson, Abilities Dance founder and executive and artistic director. PHOtO: BILL PARSONS/MAXIMAL IMAGE
‘Tales from the Crips’ from Abilities Dance
This original ballet from Abilities Dance turns classic fairytales on their head and reimagines what they would be like if the protagonists were disabled. Suddenly Sleeping Beauty suffered from long COVID, which causes deep-seated fatigue, and everyone’s stories took on a different perspective.
Martha Graham Dance Company at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
The Martha Graham Dance Company returned to New England for the first time in nearly 20 years. The diverse group performed classic works like Graham’s 1930 “Lamentations” and 1946 “Dark Meadow Suite” alongside contemporary compositions.
Film
‘Sing Sing’
Directed by Greg Kwedar and starring Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing” tells the true story of incarcerated men who find solace and connection through a theater program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts.
Colman Domingo (left) as Divine G and Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin in “Sing Sing.” PHOTO: COURTESY OF A24
‘Origin’
“Origin,” directed by Ava DuVernay, tells the story of writer Isabel Wilkerson as she put together her influential book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” The book surveys 400 years of history, which DuVernay addresses through the lens of Wilkerson’s journey.
‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’
Artist Titus Kaphar’s directorial debut is a thinly veiled exploration of his own relationship with his father. In the film, the theme of forgiveness is probed through both the father/son relationship and original artwork by Kaphar.
Music
Julia Perry PHOTO: JULIA A. PERRY COLLECTION. TALBOTT MUSIC LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, WESTMINSTER CHOIR COLLEGE OF RIDER UNIVERSITY
World Premiere of “Three Spirituals” by Julia Perry
The Boston Landmarks Orchestra performed the world premiere of “Three Spirituals,” an unpublished piece by Black composer Julia Perry. Music director Christopher Wilkins has worked hard to bring Perry’s work to light.
Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain in collaboration with Project STEP and the Suzuki School of Newton
Classical violinist and composer Daniel Bernard Roumain worked with local organizations Project STEP and the Suzuki School of Newton to create a youth string ensemble concert with elementary and middle schoolers.
‘Lovabye’ by Gregory Groover Jr.
Boston saxophonist and composer Gregory Groover Jr. released his new album “Lovaby” in April 2024. Featuring 11 original tracks, the album maintains Groover’s roots in spirituals while continuing to evolve his sound.
