Once again, Newton Community Pride has come up with a wonderful and whimsical way to enliven the city, support local artists, and surprise and delight random passersby – “Sit and Let Your Spirits Soar”
It all started when Boston Chinese Evangelical Church in Newtonville decided to renovate its sanctuary. They’ll be replacing the old wooden pews as part of that effort but they hated the idea of just destroying those old wooden benches. Instead they will be painted by local artists and installed throughout the city this summer as unique stopping places – have a seat, talk to your neighbors, enjoy the art. It will be a bit of colorful Newton history brought right to your backside.
At the moment they are soliciting artists to paint each of the 19 pews. Anyone can apply. They will pay $500 per pew to the artists. Applications have to be in by April 22. A jury will select the winners by May 15. On a weekend in June all the pews will be installed around the city and the artists will go to work on-site, and turn the painting job itself into a public event.
I love the idea, love the name and love that this summer we’ll have some art enlivening our public spaces around the city. Thank you to Newton Community Pride and many thanks to the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church for having the imagination and inspiration to not just throw these in a dumpster during construction.
Thank you Jerry! This new public art initiative is going to be great fun and we are looking forward to seeing what creative ideas come forward. We are asking artists to answer the question “_______ makes my spirit soar.”
So V14 nation – how would you answer that question? Let’s give our local artists some fun ideas. For more information about Newton Community Pride and our programs, check out https://newtoncommunitypride.org
At the moment, these make my spirit soar
Other things that can make my spirits soar include music, ice cream, family & friends, a big snowstorm, and mischief making.