arts

This is the 21st interview in a weekly series presenting highlights of conversations between leading Black visual artists in New England. In this week’s installment, artist Lucilda Dassardo-Cooper talks to artist Reginald L. Jackson.

Toni Stone was the first woman to play regularly in a major-level professional baseball league. Turned away from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League because of her race, she played on men’s teams in the Negro Leagues in the 1940s and 50s.

On a recent Friday, Love Clerveau, a sixth-grader at Mother Caroline Academy in Dorchester, stood in a hallway in her school, making peace signs with each of her hands, a tentative grin across her face. Next to her was a mirror image of sorts: a self-portrait she made as part of an art program.

In “Morning, Noon, and Night,” local playwright Kirsten Greenidge tackles post-pandemic emotions through the lens of a mother-daughter relationship. We got through the pandemic, the play posits, but did we get through all the trauma and emotions that came with it?

In the newly renovated jewelry gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, delicate tiaras float in glass cases next to ornate brooches and avant-garde necklaces. Viewers are drawn to the shiny metals and bright colors, but underneath each piece, an intricate structure of metal, wood, paint and plexiglass keeps those precious artworks posed in a seemingly effortless manner.

This is the 19th interview in a weekly series presenting highlights of conversations between leading Black visual artists in New England. In this week’s installment, artist James Perry talks to artist Rob “Problak” Gibbs.

There’s only one country that can claim to be the birthplace of humanity. This country today is home to over 75 ethnicities, and is the only African nation to resist colonial rule. This country is Ethiopia.

Melvin Murphy was born with a song in his heart. The self-taught musician learned to love music in church choir and honed his skills for decades. Now he’s ready to share something new with Boston. After four years of preparation, his original production, “Jiggin’ at the Jug,” premieres at the Strand Theatre this month.

Dressing up is steeped both in fantasy and reality. Children dress up as cops and queens and bring their fantasy selves to life with badges and tiaras. In adulthood, sartorial choices tend to be less about play and become more pragmatic.

This is the 18th interview in a weekly series presenting highlights of conversations between leading Black visual artists in New England. In this week’s installment, artist James Perry talks to artist Cagen Luse at the Boston Comics in Color Festival, held last Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.

Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” is one of the classic operas that stirs the hearts of music lovers from the first notes. This month, Boston Baroque presents a contemporary spin on the timeless tale of seduction and betrayal, starring award-winning baritone Sidney Outlaw.

This is the 17th interview in a weekly series presenting highlights of conversations between leading Black visual artists in New England. In this week’s installment, artist L’Merchie Frazier talks to artist Napoleon Jones-Henderson.