2023 year in review

Boston’s arts scene, historically catering to an older, white audience, has been slowly but steadily making space for diverse artists and audiences. 2023 saw more music, theater, film, visual art and dance highlighting Black artists and art forms than any year in the last decade.

As we approach a new year, it is time to look back in retrospect to the events of 2023. So many thoughts cascade through our minds.

This year saw continuing health challenges and breakthrough discoveries across the state and a science landscape underlined by growing efforts to address longstanding diversity issues in the sector.

“Auld lang syne” will be sung this year for notables from the worlds of sports, politics, activism and entertainment. The Bay State Banner has chosen a dozen figures, six of local renown, to represent the passage of meaningful lives in 2023.

It has been a year of change throughout New England, and the Banner has captured a plethora of stories that were important to the region. There were a number of stories in Boston that percolated in 2023 and a few others that gave us pause.