Yesterday, I finally attended the Artist Under the Dome Event! It is sponsored by the Mass Cultural Council. The event was geared to celebrating artists are who working and living in Massachusetts. The morning was filled with political figures speaking about the work they’re doing to improve the quality of life of artists working and living in Massachusetts. Treasurer Steven Grossman spoke about working to make art buying tax exempt which will encourage potential art collectors to buy more art directly from the artists as they’ll get a tax break as well. I also learned that they are working on improving the quality of life for Independent Contractors.
The afternoon was filled with lunch, networking and trips to our Senators’ offices. Unfortunately mine weren’t around so I just dropped off my press kits in hopes of something coming out of it! You never know. The afternoon had a panel of leaders who are working in the Boston area who hold leadership positions in prominent artist groups that are trying to make things a little easier. They also talked about major issues that keep popping up; finding space, unpaid internships, etc. Most of which I was already aware of.
Tonight I drove out to Northampton, Ma and met Kim the owner of The Boxcar Gallery – (yes this gallery is really in an old boxcar) at the Haymarket Cafe! I had their hot chocolate and their Fried Egg and Mozzarella sandwich. The sandwich was a little too much food than I expected but I enjoyed it overall. Kim asked me about my photographic process and I asked her about the arts in western Massachusetts. She had also asked me for a tarot reading and I gave her one at the end. Never been to Northampton (or “Noho”) before and it reminded me of Bethlehem – but holy shit did I feel at home in Northampton! It’s definitely a city I’d like to explore more. The funny thing with meeting Kim is that she had seen my artwork in Pomfret before I submitted my work to her as she grew up in Pomfret. It was a cool moment for me because I was all, “WOAH! MY ART IS GETTING RECOGNIZED!” I seriously hope this job in Enfield continues because I’m falling in love with this area.
