Go Straight to the Arts

The Society of Arts and Crafts

By WGBHArts
Sarah Cunningham, Marketing and Programs Director at The Society of Arts and Crafts reminisces about childhood’s creative spark:

“During the summers of my childhood, my sister and I spent our time in a family cabin without access to a television. Instead of idling indoors, we were constantly encouraged to engage in creative craft projects. Whether making dried flower collages, building sculptures out of found objects and hot glue, or fabricating Gaudi-style sand fortresses, these whimsical projects truly spawned my life long love for crafts. Though my childhood level of craftsmanship was certainly a far cry from the innovative work that surrounds my adult life, I recognize that my passion for craft was solidified through the process of making at such a young age. In this way, I am constantly struck by art. Every time I encounter the whimsical and uninhibited creations of our youth, I am reminded of the creative urge that is so integral to human nature.”

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Citi Performing Arts Center

By WGBH Arts

Josiah A. Spaulding, Jr., President of Citi Performing Arts, discusses his passion for the arts:

"I’ve had many special moments related to the arts, but a pivotal moment was when I started to teach myself to play guitar and piano inspired by the song In Memory of Elizabeth Reed by the Allman Brothers. In high school, I’d immerse myself listening to it in order to learn the chords. Once while driving my Volkswagen bus, I was so absorbed in the song (OK, it WAS a little loud), that I didn’t hear the sirens on a police car trying to pull me over.

In my 25 years at Citi Center, I’ve been fortunate to experience performances of all genres but what gives me a thrill is watching our audiences enjoying a memorable performance in an iconic building. The arts are generational and inherent in all of us, a great inspiration we sometimes take for granted, and I get to remind people of that gift every day."

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Whistler House Museum of Art

By WGBHArts
Sara M. Bogosian, President of the Whistler House Museum of Art, speaks to the necessity of art:

“Sometimes amid our daily activities, it is easy to forget how critical the arts are to our lives. The truth is that they give us balance. Just like other types oflearning, knowledge of art, creative expression and thinking leads to a life of fulfillment and accomplishment, giving us a foundation for meeting today's social challenges. I became interested in art at the age of five when I would watch my mother, a dress designer from Argentina, create beautiful dresses and gowns made up of jewel-toned colors and interesting, unusual textures and fabrics. I painted my first oil painting at the age of nine. From there I sketched fashion designs for dresses, coats, suits, many of which I patterned and sewed myself. As a business executive, I have incorporated my knowledge of art in every project I have ever worked on. This keeps me balanced, continually inspired, and vibrant.”

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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA)

By WGBHArts
Hannah Burr, a teaching artist at the Museum of Fine Arts, remarks on the influence of the individual on art:

"I've been working with a blind painter for about 12 years, tutoring him on technique, composition and color theory, while helping him strategize and execute the painting compositions he describes to me (he does all the actual painting). This is a unique art experience because it involves an evolving relationship that has furthered my interest in the value of discussing what is different in what we see… I care about the question, If we're in the same room at the same time, are we having the same experience? I explore what's fleeting and overlooked, for instance a look, a nod, a comment, a gesture, or sound."

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Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program

By WGBHArts
Karen Totman, Executive Director of Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program, shares her introduction to the art world:

"I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Conway, MA. My Great Aunt, Ruth J. Totman, who was a highly educated woman for her time, felt it her obligation to ensure the younger generations of farm children didn’t grow up void of culture and world view. As she had done for my father and his siblings, Great Aunt Ruth would take my brother and me for a week or weekend of exposure to travel and the arts. We went to museums, plays, national monuments, music events and even to a water ballet. These 'field trips' opened my eyes to creative living and personal expression through art. In my office hangs an architect’s drawing from 1959 of the building on the UMASS Amherst campus which carries her name. It serves as a constant reminder of how important it is to expose young people to the power of their own creativity."

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The Hanover Theatre

By WGBHArts
Troy Siebels, Executive Director of The Hanover Theatre discusses the power of theatre:

"As a regional theatre guy who’s now running a performing arts center, booking touring shows instead of creating them, I am grateful to have the opportunity to stage A Christmas Carol each year – I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it. Working on the show puts everyone in such a cheerful frame of mind, and the story itself is so powerful and timeless. What’s most rewarding to me is discovering anew the power of a live theatrical performance – sitting in the audience during moments of tension in the story, when there are 2,000 people in the room and yet you could hear a pin drop. At the end of the play even the most cynical people in the audience can have a tear in their eye. For something that I’ve created to make the holiday spirit come alive in so many people is a powerful thing."

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Wheelock Family Theatre

By WGBHArts
Wendy Lement, Producer at Wheelock Family Theatre, reflects on the significance of audience experience:

“In the 1980’s, I was riveted by the telecast of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. I was particularly struck by how the actors shifted scenes seamlessly in full view of the audience. The staging gave the illusion of simplicity, but in reality it was a complex, well-choreographed dance. That production influenced my approach to directing. I strive to immerse the audience in the world of the play from the moment they enter the theatre. With the help of designers, I develop a cohesive concept from ideas imbedded in the script. Whether directing a highly stylized play or one that’s realistic, it’s important to me that the concept supports the story, and that the design elements support the acting. Most of all, I want audiences of all ages to view the world and their place in it from a fresh perspective.”

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Rockport Music

By WGBHArts
Tony Beadle, Executive Director for Rockport Music, on his first experience with music:

“When I was a child, the living room of my home had a cabinet filled with classical music LP records and atop was what we called the ”record player.” It was portable and monaural. I was only about three years old, and found the playing of a record a visual delight. I loved to watch the label spin… I hardly ever noticed the music playing. But one day it happened. I was playing Gaite Parisienne with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, watching the word C O L U M B I A spin around… I realized the sound of an orchestra playing the raucous cancan was far more fun than watching the needle! The world of sound had opened its doors to me, and music was its reward. As I grew, I listened to every record in that cabinet repeatedly, eventually graduating to a “stereo console,” as it was called. The love affair with music persists.”