Arts Archives - Page 13 of 14 - Neighborhood View

Captivating artwork of Ming Huang Zhang .. now showing in the MATV Gallery

November 18, 2014 annedr 0

The MATV Gallery is exhibiting the work of Ming Huang Zhang, a participating artist in this year’s Window Arts Malden through January 2015. Zhang hails from China and immigrated to the United States in 2011. The work in this exhibit features his oil portraits which are painted in a western style but display subjects and details that are distinctly Eastern. Also on exhibit will be a number of his portrait sketches using a charcoal medium, a favorite of the artist. Zhang frequents Harvard Square where he finds plenty of people to pose for his sketches, which typically take about 15 minutes to complete yet are captivating in their level of fine detail and likeness to the original face. Says Zhang, “I live in Boston and I love this beautiful city. I have liked drawing since I was a preschool child. Every day, I drew on the road with small stones because my parents did not have enough money to buy drawing equipment for me.” In 2010, Zhang drew a giant mural (300 square meters) for the […]

Henrietta Lacks’ story moves audiences at Malden Reads ‘Dessert Theater’

November 16, 2014 annedr 0

It was an electrifying evening in Malden on Monday, November 10. The cafeteria of Triangle, Inc. at 420 Pearl St. was transformed into an elegant cafe with lamps and candlelight replacing the overhead fluorescents. The opening to the kitchen was covered by grey-mottled panels and formed the backdrop for a theatrical presentation that left the over 70 attendees to the free event profoundly moved by its power and intensity. Malden Reads: One City, One Book in collaboration with the North Shore Black Women’s Association presented a staged reading of an original play, “Henrietta,” based on the 2014 Malden Reads book selection The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Written by poet, musician, songwriter and (now) playwright Licia Sky, the reading was a moving tribute to the African-American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge in the 1950s at Johns Hopkins Hospital and have been multiplied and used worldwide since that time to further the field of medical science. Henrietta was a poor black tobacco farmer from the south whose family continued to […]

MATV wins four regional video awards

November 12, 2014 annedr 0

MATV, Malden’s Media Center, landed four awards in a recent video festival held in Nashua, New Hampshire sponsored by the Alliance for Community Media Northeast Region.The annual event, held on October 11, featured hundreds of students, professionals and citizens from all over New England and New York to compete for best video in 20 categories. MATV’s Executive Director Ron Cox and Program/Volunteer Coordinator James Mudge attended the ceremony to receive “Best Entertainment” in the professional division for a video Ron produced for last year’s MATV Annual Meeting called “Back to the Future.” The video was a spoof based on the well-loved film trilogy. Mr. Cox, who played himself in the video did the writing and editing and James Mudge who played “Doc” was the camera operator. The second first-place video was for “A Visit with Dairy Delight” which won “Best Profile Documentary” in the professional division. This was a short story on one of Malden’s favorite ice cream shops on Main Street. Ron was the host and James shot and edited the piece as a […]

Window Arts Malden showcases local artists

September 30, 2014 neighbormedia 0

Want a good reason to walk around downtown Malden? Window Arts Malden, the flagship project of Malden Arts, is celebrating its ninth season showcasing more than 20 local artists working with different mediums including photography, jewelry, printmaking and painting. The storefront exhibition continues through Sunday, Oct. 12. “For artists, it’s a lot of fun,” says Elizabeth Scorsello, a local creatve displaying her work at Two Paisan’s Pizzeria. “It’s a great way to get your work out there and share it with your neighbors and fellow artists.”

Op-Ed: Hip hop from a Malden resident’s perspective

September 8, 2014 neighbormedia 0

Hip hop is the most influential culture to today’s youth globally. What is hip hop? Well, I’m glad you asked. Hip hop is the absence of rules. People study music theory, but hip hop is not theoretical. It is the practice of taking 1/100 of a sample, or a riff and completely distorting the original context, to create something that the original artist never intended or imagined. Hip hop can be a gentle ode to one’s mother or a direct threat to the powers that be around the globe in the speed of a tweet. It can be funny or ironic, or a witness to obscenely pornographic levels of uncut violence or unmitigated injustice. If it exists in the real world, it is fair game for hip hop. Hip hop is not the pop infused sounds that we hear blaring out of our speakers in the car that provoke youth to twerk. Any similarities to “hip-pop” are due to common cultural influences, “chicken or the egg” type conundrum. There will always be entertainers who mass […]

Arts

Malden’s ILC Theater puts on a show

September 6, 2014 suzannehishmeh 0

Malden’s Immigrant Learning Center Theater class recently hosted a performance event. The class is a unique learning experience for English for speakers of other languages in which conversational English is mixed with personal storytelling and sharing of participant’s experiences. This allows people to share their stories about coming to America, improves their English proficiency, and shines a light on the importance of immigrants to the community. The performance mixed humor and striking theatrical performance with moving personal experiences to make for an entertaining story and an intrigued audience. ILC has always been a safe and creative space to park dialogue about Immigration and its importance to our community while handling the voices of the people who have experienced it first-hand.

Corita Kent Exhibit in Memory of Joan Aliberti at the Malden Public Library

August 11, 2014 annedr 0

An exhibit of works by renowned artist Corita Kent is on display at the Malden Public Library in the Lower Gallery of the Converse Memorial Building. The works were donated in memory of longtime Malden resident Joan Aliberti after her death in 2002 by her mother Tina Aliberti. Corita Kent, also known as Sister Mary Corita, is the artist behind the brightly colored gas tanks in Dorchester that are seen along the Southeast Expressway. Known as the Rainbow Swash, the painting on the gas tanks comprise the largest piece of copyrighted artwork in the world. A similar design was used for the artist’s widely recognized 1985 Love stamp. Kent has an extensive body of work that incorporates abstract color, collage, and writing, expressing values of peace and social justice. Her works are included in collections at The Whitney, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Joan Aliberti, a Malden educator, was a friend of the late artist and held a number of her works in her personal collection. The pieces […]

Mark Wahlberg mania at ‘Ted 2’ filming

August 4, 2014 neighbormedia 0

“Ted 2,” the sequel to the widely successful Seth MacFarlane comedy about a talking teddy bear, filmed last week at the Malden Public Library. While details of the movie are kept secret, there was plenty of excitement on the street as crowds gathered, mostly trying to get a look at Mark Wahlberg or Amanda Seyfried. Here’s the word from the made-in-Malden film set: Ralph Balon, 21, commented on how “it’s crazy how Malden is becoming part of Hollywood now.” Nicole Blount, 22, “just hopes the movie is funny,” and she wants to see it. They both agree the first movie was funny. Nicole Oliver described the first film as “wicked funny” while Noelle Lafausi wishes Mila Kunis was in this one too because “she was really funny. I liked her.” However both Oliver and Lafusi agree that Mark is funny enough to hold his own. Kourtney Malone also enjoyed the first one and found out about the filming from her sister who is a big Mark Wahlberg fan. They’ve been to Wahburgers as well, though […]

FILM: ‘Ted 2’ crew films scenes in Malden

July 29, 2014 neighbormedia 0

Lights, cameras … Malden? Hollywood East shot scenes for the locally shot flick “Ted 2.” Seth McFarlane, Mark Wahlberg and Amanda Seyfried were on set at the Malden Public Library on Monday, July 28. Judging from the traffic on Salem Street, it wasn’t just your average commute. A fleet of trucks, tents set up outside the library, a long white tube snaking into the building, and a yellow and black sign outside the high school that stated “Catering/Extras Holding” revealed that something out of the ordinary was going on. Police officials kept foot traffic moving along the Salem Street sidewalk. No standing onlookers allowed. To folks who have been paying attention, it’s no secret that a few scenes from the movie “Ted 2” are being shot in Malden. There’s been a few open casting calls in the Boston media, most notably one for folks with homemade superhero costumes. [Producer/director Seth McFarlane is in town to film scenes from the movie “Ted 2,” starring Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried, and the voice of Seth McFarlane, in the […]

MATV REWINDS: Flashback to 2002 wedding

July 28, 2014 suzannehishmeh 0

In honor of its 25th anniversary, Malden Access Television has been airing programs from one quarter of a century of archives. The idea is to reconnect the community to local history in a creative way. A wide variety of topics and shows have made their way into this “Rewinds” series — to run though late August. One such program is the first ever live wedding of Malden locals Cathy and Jian on Valentine’s Day of 2002. The Chinese themed wedding included traditional music, explanations of decor and symbols, a candle-lighting ceremony and speeches from guests. The bride showed off traditional Chinese dress as well as a typical white gown provided by a local business — just one way in which this wedding mixed cultures from different sides of the globe in a beautiful display of what Malden and its history is all about. To view the full wedding and learn more about MATV Rewinds and programming, visit www.matv.org and tune in to its Public Access channel. –Suzanne Hishmeh