There’s something for everyone in these Arts Programs around town!
By E. Ashley Rooney
This year will be a great one for the arts in Lexington. Lexington will hold the dynamic Dance Around the World this March and display whimsical Fairy Houses along the bike path, thanks to the Lexington Council for Arts (LCA). Moreover, the Council has awarded some exciting grants for this year.
One of the more fascinating projects that received a LCA grant is the Earth Day Awareness Sculpture to be built by Munroe Center for the Arts. With the recent emphasis on climate change and plastic proliferation, artists are creating powerful art works that remind us of the impact of our waste on our environment and stimulate us to consider our own lifestyles.
Hoping to build people’s awareness about the vast amount of plastic that humans ingest each year, the Center is planning to partner with Lex Zero Waste, to work with a local sculptor, and build sculptures filled with discarded plastic pots, yogurt containers, bottles etc. These sculptures highlight the importance of recycling and the damage plastics are having on our environment.
Generally, the backside of stores and office buildings are drab and dreary. But when they are adorned with a colorful mural, they can become quite thought-provoking. LCA is sponsoring Jill Strait, and artist who will create a Community Mural of musical instruments on the back of the Music Emporium facing the Minuteman Bikeway. It will be a treat for cyclists and walkers, encouraging everyone to slow down and admire their surroundings.
Of course, some of LCA’s grants went towards music in this musically diverse town. There will be Brass in the Grass from the Lexington Symphony, band Concerts at Hastings Park, and Harmony on the Green Coffeehouse.
There will be a concert of staged scenes from the worlds of Operetta/Musical Theater; Francis Hart will treat us to a cultural and historical reflection of the 1960s through the music of the Beatles; and Thomas Rull will take seniors on a musical journey through the years
Additionally, the LCA grants will provide music for the Lexington Bicentennial Band, fund art supplies for neurodiverse art classes in the Special Needs Art Program, help sponsor a May Day celebration, and support the popular Open Studios Weekend tours on May 20-21.
LCA will subsidize summer programs at Lexington Community Farm and help fund a juried exhibition of contemporary ceramics created by clay artists at LexArt. Seniors will do hip hop chair dances and celebrate the season.
LCA also plans to present another new event, Porchfest, this summer. What is Porchfest? Have you ever sat on your porch on a sultry summer evening and overhead someone strumming a guitar? Porchfest builds on this experience and amplifies it to become a community event where Lexingtonians share their love of music.
What could be nicer on a hot summer night? Maybe a cool drink to go with it?
