Friday, April 03, 2009

Center for Arts at The Armory Dedication Ceremony


Tonight an important milestone in Somerville history will take place when the old armory officially becomes The Center for Arts at The Armory. The event will be marked with a tour of the beautifully redesigned interior of the space, an art show, dedication speeches from Mayor Joe Curtatone and Senator Pat Jehlen, even a youth drumline performance. There will be refreshments served and a chance to meet the visual artists (including me!) participating in the Center's inaugural show.

Oddly, there's an "inter-faith" blessing planned that includes only representatives of two Christian sects. I'm not sure why it was deemed necessary to bring a religious element into the mix, but considering Somerville's diversity, a rabbi and an imam would probably have been appropriate as well. Personally, I'd just as soon leave god out of it; I'm a rank secularist and I'd like to see religion left in the churches, synagogues and mosques, and out of the arts. Art provides a spirituality of its own that shouldn't need to compete with religion in its own space.

At any rate, Joseph and Nabil of The Middle East and Zuzu, have done an outstanding job with turning the Armory into a valuable space for Somerville artists and art appreciators alike. I think it's going to have a large role in the art community here in Somerville, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Details of tonight's Dedication Ceremony:

5:00 - 5:45 PM
Building Tour

5:45 - 6:15 PM
Welcome and Master of Ceremonies
Robert Claycomb, Armory Neighborhood Advisory Committee Member

An Interfaith Building Blessing
Father Thomas Corcoran, St. Catherine´s Parish
Reverend Doctor Richard R. Buckner, III, Church of the Holy Spirit

Mayoral Dedication and Citation
Mayor Joseph Curtatone

Legislative Citation
Senator Patricia Jehlen
Representative Carl Sciortino
Representative Denise Provost

Aldermanic Citation
Alderman Sean O´Donovan, Ward Five

Youth Music Performance Drumline
A Percussion Group of 10 Somerville High School Students
Directed by Brian O´Neil and Nick Dalessandro, Somerville High School Music Department

A Community Reading Led by Robert Smyth, Armory Neighborhood Advisory Committee Member

6:15 - 7:00 PM
Armory ART Start!
Reception in the Armory Café
Meet the artists who participated in our first exhibit.
Also see before and after images of the Armory and bring your own photos and stories!

We want to be a good neighbor. We encourage you to take public transportation, bike, car pool or walk to the Armory. If you do decide to drive, please use our parking lot behind the Armory located at 191 Highland Avenue or the overflow lot located at 112 Central Street (before the bridge as you head towards Medford Street).

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1 Comments:

Blogger Dennis Fischman said...

I know what you mean about "interfaith": all too often, it means "two or more varieties of Christian." Here's an exception: www.daughtersofabraham.com.

12:41 PM  

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