We asked our colleagues to tell us about the things they read, watched, listened to and worked on this year. Here’s our list of the experiences that moved us in 2023.
Photo: Commonwealth Murals
Raeshma Razvi, Program Officer, Expand Mass. Stories
- Ferrying to Block Island and biking around was a perfect way to spend one summer day in the northeast.
- Poverty, by America a book by Matthew Desmond was an illuminating and morally bracing look at how US policies do ‘so much more to subsidize affluence than to alleviate poverty.’
- My first family member born in New England, my cousin’s baby Rehan is officially the cutest and sweetest person in our whole extended family.
- A double-decker bus tour of the vibrant public murals in Springfield, led by Britt Ruhe of Commonwealth Murals, a Mass Humanities grantee.
Gina Ocasion, Clemente Course Coordinator
- Book: Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maggie Mortimer.
- Film: Gather. A documentary on Indigenous food practices
- Book: Clementinos, forthcoming 2024. A collection of essays and poems by Clemente scholars in Massachusetts, published by University of Massachusetts Press.
Diane Feltner, Development Manager
LaToya Bosworth, Program Officer, Reading Frederick Douglass Together
- In September, I ran the Harford Bubble Run 5k with two of my close girlfriends.
- Being honored in May by the Pioneer Valley Women’s Conference with the Goddess Award, which goes to a woman who personifies the three distinct traits that are reflective of a women’s contribution towards the creation of a stronger local community: She embraces life’s challenges with optimism and bravery; she tests traditional thinking to initiate change; and she ventures beyond herself to empower and collaborate with others.
- Watched High on the Hog Season Two on Netflix and felt so connected to my roots.
- The entire National Humanities Conference presented multiple opportunities for me to engage I the Humanities from the perspectives and lived experiences of African Americans historically and present day.
Katherine Stevens, Director of Grants and Programs
- B.C.U.C at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke. One of the best live shows I have been to. Ecstatic, with the sense of danger you might expect at an underground punk show but somehow channeled into care and togetherness—and a lot of dancing. Part of the first “Secret Planet” season in the Connecticut valley, B.C.U.C. also stopped by the Fabulous 413 for an interview and “unplugged” set.
- “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield” at the Museum of Fine Arts. The size and weight (all meanings) of the clay jars in this exhibit took my breath away. Large and forceful as monuments, but also intimate, inscribed with subtle poems by their maker, Dave. Seeing it as part of the Clemente course visit to the MFA, and reading Kyera Singleton’s exhibit commentary about enslaved New England artisans, made the experience all the more special.
- Holyoke Fish Elevator. So many things I love combined in one: a literal window into the wonders of nature, municipal infrastructure, local history, conservation efforts, and enthusiastic tour guides. I took every visitor I had in May to see it.
- The Living Presence: A Conversation with Indigenous Screenwriters – Ohketeau Cultural Center. The Living Presence series, which Mass Humanities supports, always feels like a gift to its audiences. Rhonda Anderson brings together Indigenous writers, creators, and scholars into conversation with each other. This event with Indigenous screenwriters was generous, funny, and, when it needed to be, unflinchingly honest. It has stayed with me.
Brian Boyles, Executive Director
- Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music, Henry Threadgill. This memoir by the Pulitizer-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist carries us along through his Chicago youth to his tour in Vietnam to his intrepid, groundbreaking role in redefining the boundaries of jazz. Read if you’re into adventurous spirits and musical genius.
- Big Thief at the Pines, Northampton. My partner and I hadn’t been to a concert by ourselves since January 2020, and Big Thief’s music was one of the things that pulled me along through the pandemic (I could cite Zach Bryan, Currensy, and Courtney Barnett here, too). The performance was odd, uneven, and threaded with stretches of artistic intimacy. I loved the way the audience—at one of western Mass’s great venues—seemed to carry singer through vulnerable, uncertain moments, much as songs like “Masterpiece” held me up the last 3+ years.
- Conrad Tao at the Clark Art Institute. There’s an emerging vision in the performances the the museum hosts that’s well worth celebrating and signing up for their newsletter. Placing Tao at the center of the 50th anniversary of the Manton Research Center in May gave the night a future-facing urgency beyond commemoration and well in line with the Center’s significance. Playing a composition by Patrick Higgins, Tao confronted the audience with a furious dexterity and presence I admired. Glad I had the chance to tell him so after the show.
- National Black Doll Museum pop-up at the JMac in Worcester, February 1-12, 2023. Mass Humanities was fortunate to support Debora Britt just as she and her one-of-a-kind collection of more than 7,000 dolls were forced out of their space in Mansfield. An exhibit at Wheaton College in 2022 was followed by this show in Worcester, organized by our board member and Worcester Black History founder Deborah Hall. At the opening, Britt gave a stirring account of a life spent collecting and advocating for dolls that reflect centuries of artistic innovation too often neglected by major toy companies and museums.