North Adams
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Bi-Weekly Newsletter: February 15, 2024
Arts and Entertainment
February 20, 2024
From: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art2024 is heating up! With performances on our stages and new exhibitions in our galleries, keep track of everything ahead this winter/spring season that you don't want to miss: a concert and reading with Like Magic artist Johanna Hedva; an in-progress presentation of Bennington College's Nicholas Brooke's new work Ten Transcendental Etudes; early member registration for Camp MASS MoCA; and lots more ahead.
We are open on Tuesday, February 20 during school break, with special workshops happening every day in Kidspace. See you here.
Free for All
School Break Kidspace Workshops
February 19–23, 11am
Join MASS MoCA Museum Educators for a series of free workshops for all ages during the week of school break, February 19–23! Workshops will take place at 11am every day in Kidspace, and each will focus on a different art medium and process. Come be inspired, learn something new, and make a project to take home! The ArtBar will also be open for drop-in art-making throughout the day.
Open Studios
Thursday, February 22, 5–7pm
Get to know the current artists-in-residence! Taking place in Building 13 + Building 34, admission is free and open to all. Visit our news page to learn more about the current Studios cohort.
Johanna Hedva: In the Galleries and On Stage
In conjunction with the exhibition Like Magic, artist Johanna Hedva joins MASS MoCA for two not-to-be-missed programs next week.
Johanna Hedva: Your Love is Not Good
Friday, February 23
Like Magic artist Johanna Hedva joins us in the Research & Development Store for a reading and discussion of their recently released Your Love is Not Good, in conversation with MASS MoCA Curator Alexandra Foradas.
All events at MASS MoCA are accessible to all audiences. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to inquire about accessibility needs and services. These events will include ASL interpretation; learn more on each event page.
Johanna Hedva in Concert
Saturday, February 24
The following night, Johanna Hedva will debut songs from their upcoming, in-progress album, Fist. Written on a haunted acoustic guitar that disappeared for ten years and then returned in the winter of 2023, the songs from Fist materialize as hag blues, succubus folk, and bog-witch lullabies in this Club B10 performance.
Like Magic
Building 4.2
In times of uncertainty, people often turn towards technologies of magic for solace and strength. These technologies are not the props used for stage magic (rabbits in hats, scarves hidden up sleeves) but rather are tools (devices, talismans, rituals, incantations) created by humans to help them survive and thrive in a chaotic world. Like Magic brings together artists who employ technologies of magic to resist systems that attempt to surveil and control people’s lives and stories, often because of their race, ability, sexuality, gender identity, indigeneity, or immigration status.
Have a Musical March
Ten Transcendental Etudes
Friday & Saturday, March 1 & 2, 8pm
Catch a work-in-progress sharing of Bennington College's Nicholas Brooke's latest piece.
Student price: Just $15.
Daymé Arocena
Saturday, March 9, 8pm
Be blown away by the talents of award-winning Afro-Cuban jazz singer Daymé Arocena in her Club B10 concert.
Now On View
Eluding Capture: Three Artists from Central Asia
Building 4.3
Eluding Capture features the work of Saodat Ismailova, Alexander Ugay, and Gulnur Mukazhanova, three artists who explore the conditions of belonging in Central Asia through photography, textile, film, and video.
Calling All Creative 2nd–6th Graders!
Camp MASS MoCA
August 5–30, 2024
Member Pre-Sale: through February 29
General On Sale: beginning March 1, noon
Young people entering grades 2–6 are invited to Camp MASS MoCA. Participants explore the expansive campus and world-class art exhibitions and create original works of their own. The MASS MoCA Member Pre-Sale is going on now. (Not yet a member? Become one here.) Sign up early as space is limited!
Cheers to Our Artistic Community
Congratulations to Grammy Awards Winners & Nominees
This year's Grammy Awards gave recognition to many talents from MASS MoCA's nearly 25-year history, with wins for MASS MoCA past performers including Roomful of Teeth, Lucius, and Jason Isbell (who returns with The 400 Unit for this year's Solid Sound Festival), and past FreshGrass favorites Allison Russell (pictured), Brandi Carlile, Molly Tuttle, and Béla Fleck; plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for Laurie Anderson during the weekend's festivities. (Flor de Toloache, Tank and the Bangas, Mighty Poplar, Rhiannon Giddens, ALVVAYS, Lucy Dacus, Cory Henry, Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Love in Exile, and Old Crow Medicine Show received nominations, as well.) Congratulations to all!
Welcome Assets for Artist Residents from Across the Commonwealth
This month, the Studios at MASS MoCA has hosted 2024's Massachusetts Artists Fellows and Iris Residency Fellows. These artists are from across the Commonwealth and will be in residence at MASS MoCA until February 26, with an Open Studio on February 22 from 5 to 7pm.