Sip & Chat – September

NEAC EVENTS:

Sip & Chat 

Thursday, September 26, 6:30pm to 8:30pm

New Art Centers and Maker Spaces: Transforming the Present and the Future of Creative Communities

This engaging conversation delves into how visionary art leaders are reshaping the models of art centers and maker spaces to adapt to today’s rapidly changing cultural landscape. As the traditional boundaries between artistic disciplines blur and the need for collaborative, innovative spaces grows, these leaders are pioneering new approaches that foster creativity, inclusivity, and community engagement.

Through interactive discussions, participants will explore how these art centers and maker spaces are reinventing their missions, embracing challenges, supporting diverse artists, and cultivating sustainable environments for artistic growth. The program will also highlight how these spaces serve as incubators for creativity, social change, and entrepreneurial spirit, offering new opportunities for emerging and established artists.

Join us to hear from visionary leaders about their challenges, innovative strategies, and expectations for the future of creative spaces in the 21st century. Whether you’re an artist, arts administrator, or community organizer, this program offers valuable insights into how art institutions evolve and how you can be part of this dynamic transformation.

Guest Speakers:

Gary Roberts: has served on the Board of Trustees since 2016, overseeing the Strategic Planning and DEI committees prior to becoming president in 2021. Previously he worked at the MIT Sloan School of Management as Director of Faculty and Research Services, developing strategy and overseeing an array of operations and resource planning; prior to that he was Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs at Tufts University, and he has held a number of positions at Harvard University. His nonprofit work includes serving as the chair of the Medford Arts Council to promote community arts and culture, and serving on the Leadership Council for MASSCreative, a statewide non-profit advocacy organization. A Medford resident and ceramics collector, he earned a Ph.D. in English literature and languages from Brandeis University, and is an active poet and translator of poetry.

Jean Mineo: experienced in managing both contemporary galleries and non-profit community arts organizations with expertise in cultural management issues and public art project management. From 2006-2015 she was Director of the Boston Sculptors Gallery and ran the Jamaica Plain Open Studios for three years. Jean holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from American University. A Medfield resident since 2004, Jean served as Chair of the Medfield Cultural Council, received a MA Cultural Council Leadership Circle Award in 2015, and was honored as Medfield’s Volunteer of the Year in 2017. In 2015, Jean helped establish the Cultural Alliance of Medfield to nurture and support cultural programs that encourage collaboration, experimentation, and meaningful dialogue, and create an environment to foster the arts as a cultural necessity.

Samantha Fields: is drawn to the materials and processes that have historically lived outside of an “Art” context, she strives to make work that can live in and speak to the different worlds of ‘high’ and ‘low.’ “I make–slowly–with/through craft. Making things slowly is a personal act of resistance against the fast-paced, multi-tasking, product-driven world in which I find myself.” As a multimedia artist, Sam engages with textile and craft based processes as a survival mechanism, aesthetic, and a conceptual strategy. Through these modes of making, she is able to explore different social constructs associated with the decorative: gender, class, professional/hobbyist, and the hierarchical categories of taste and morality. Sam received her MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and her undergraduate degree from Massachusetts College of Art; and is currently Lecturer of Sculpture at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts |Tufts University.

Martha Chason-Sokol: is an artist living and working in Everett, MA. Her work has been exhibited in Massachusetts and nationally. She holds a BA from Brandeis University and an MFA from Lesley University College of Art and Design. She is the Founder/Director of Arts for Everett, Inc, a nonprofit artist run community art space and nomadic arts organization and she serves as Chair of the Everett Cultural Council.

Moderator:

Claudia Fiks, arts administrator, independent curator, art consultant, director at Galatea Fine Art, Newton Open Studios, Director and founder at New England Art Center.

Link to RSVP