Annually, the Fenway Studios artists welcome visitors to their weekend celebration, Open Studios. It’s a great opportunity to explore this National Historic Landmark as you meet its artists and view their work. Additionally, throughout the year Fenway Studios artists engage both collectively as well as individually, in various community events. Below please see some of the exciting community activities Fenway Studios has enjoyed participating in or hosting.
Interested in arranging a tour for your students or organization? Email contact@fenwayartstudios.org.
Annual Open Studios/Annual Food Drive
The artists of Fenway Studios open their doors to the public for a weekend each November. People have the opportunity to see the inside the building, visit artist studios, meet the artist and even purchase art. Often, this event also features performance by musicians form the Berklee School of Music.
The Open Studios committee also uses this event as an opportunity to solicit donations to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Visitors are asked to bring a non-perishable food item, which the artists then deliver to GBFB. Every year, the studios make a large donation to the food bank, thanks to the generosity of our vistors.
Holiday Toy Drive/Annual Event
During the month of December, Fenway Studios collects toys for underprivileged children in the Boston area.
Visual Arts meets the Culinary Arts/Annual Event
Since 2016, the founding president of Friends of Fenway Studios, Lynda McNally, and the artists from Fenway Studios have collaborated with Iris Tran, director of marketing at Fenway Community Development Corporation, for their annual “Taste of the Fenway.” Every September, the Fenway Studios artists look forward to bringing their paintings (and their appetites) to this fun and festive community event.
Opening Our Doors/Annual Event
Each October, Opening Our Doors brings together members and community partners from the Fenway Alliance in a day of free cultural offerings for the entire family. Alliance institutions and partners host activities ranging from musical and dance performances to historic tours and lectures, special “behind-the-scenes” looks at Alliance institutions, walking tours of The Fenway, and much more. They come together as a community to prove that art can and should be participatory. Fenway Studios has participated in this cultural event.
First Night Boston/2011, 2012
Fenway artists have opened up to the public as part of the First Night activities held each December 31st throughout the city to ring in the new year.
June 2016/Common Boston 2016
During the weekend of June 4th through 5th, thousands of residents and visitors explored dozens of architecturally, culturally and historically significant sites across Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville that were either open to the public for one weekend only, or that provided a special behind-the-scenes opportunity just for Common Boston visitors. Common Boston is a program of the BSA Foundation, a charitable organization providing design awareness programs that illuminate the ways in which design improves the quality of our lives. Six studios at Fenway opened for this public event and allowed a new audience to discover the studios.
Boston Public Radio 2017, 2018, 2019
Fenway Studios Artists have been guests on the WGBH program “Boston Public Radio” to participate in the Friday News Quiz which has allowed them the opportunity to discuss this unique building, promote the Annual Food Drive for the Greater Boston Food Bank as well as the Annual Open Studios Event.
June 2018, June 2019/Fenway Porchfest
Porchfest is an afternoon of free music performed outside of people’s homes and in other public spaces. Over 100 cities across the country hold Porchfests. The first ever Fenway Porchfest took place on Saturday, June 16th 2018, from 12-4 PM. All musicians, professionals, amateurs, and everything in between, perform voluntarily at a designated time and location. Attendees stroll from venue to venue, in order to hear the music of their choice. Fenway Studios was one of the community participants in this event.
October 2019/ Fenway Connections
Fenway Studios Artists participated in the first ever exhibition of their work at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Tour/Studio Visits/Events 2019
March
Artist Ed Stitt hosted educators from the National Art Educators Association in his studio. Additionally he led his own students on a tour of his studio, as well as that of fellow artists David Lowrey (304) and Peter Williams (111).
Several FSHC members met with representatives of the Muddy Water Initiative. This is an advocacy and educational clearinghouse to gather neighbors, environmentalists, and other stakeholders along the Muddy River from beginning to end to work together on clean up. The MWI presented on their proposal of a “water goat” and got support and a committment for future engagement from the FSHC artists.
June
Artists David Lowrey and Kayla Mohammadi worked with Brookline Center for Adult Education to set up a tour of Fenway Studios and to meet various artists in the building.
October
Approximately 30 of our artists participated in an exhibition at the Massachusetts Historical Society. The event was to commemorate the new partnership between Fenway Studios and MHS. MHS will become the custodian of the Fenway Studios archives. This is an exciting development for both organizations. This will make the archives more accessible as well as better preserve the cultural legacy of our National Historic Landmark.
Artists Oana Lauric, Ed Stitt, Berio Gizzi and Anne Harney opened their doors to students from Max Grinnell’s Mass Art architecture class. The students had the opportunity to meet the artists, learn about the building and the architecture. They also got to meet Winston, our latest canine addition.
November
Several artist members hosted representatives from Trinity Financial, Inc. to the building. Trinity Financial, Inc. is partnering with the Harvard Club on potential new development on the north side of the Mass Pike. They were seeking community feedback and engagement. The visitors got to see the inside of the studios, learn about the concerns of the residents and discuss possibilities. The group invited the coop community to engage further at some upcoming community events.
Several artists, including Peter Scott, Anne Harney, Linda Pocheschi and Mary Hughes contributed artwork for a fundraising event for Great Dog Rescue New England. The silent auction features dog-centric art and all the funds raised go to support the shelter and the dogs.