Arts

Put Malden on the map: A growing city takes pride in its up-and-coming art scene

By Nia Harmon Since 2016, husband and wife duo Ose and Marcel Schwab have been amplifying the work of local creatives in Malden. As the outgrowth of an initiative by Ose Schwab, owner of Malden Creates LLC, The Gallery@57 and non-profit Creative Malden strive to enhance the culturally rich city through its support of local artists, writers, and musicians. “Malden has been lucky to have many art groups and initiatives throughout the years that highlight and connect its many fine artists,” writes Marcel Schwab in an email interview. “The Gallery@57 seeks to continue that work and nurture an inclusive and active artist community that is connected and informed about the opportunities available.” What originally started off as “Malden Pops Up,” a pop-up shop in an abandoned space at 480 Main St. that ran for about a year, is now the inviting storefront located at 57 Pleasant Street. “The purpose of Malden Creates LLC was to initiate opportunities for artists and performers to bring their work to Malden for money,” said Ose Schwab. “[In 2016], the […]

Education

Building a Business and the Role of Generosity

By Joanne Elie More than 70 people gathered at J Malden Center on Wednesday evening, Feb. 5, to listen to five local business owners talk about how they managed to give back to their community while keeping their businesses afloat. Panelists at the “Building a Business and the Role of Generosity” event shared the reasons they chose to run a business in the first place, which was to help empower their community. Generosity was the theme of the night. This theme was reflected in the topic of discussion and by the contributions both in-kind and fiscal by the many sponsors. United Peoples Bank sponsored the event and J Malden Center contributed the beautiful amenity space. J Malden Center is a new mixed use development with a high-end housing complex, retail spaces, and Malden city offices. The community space has a modern, suave design with a colorful young vitality. The center has become a structural symbol of Malden’s commitment to enhancing its community and exemplifies a business focused on community. Other generous contributors to this event […]

Arts

The Gallery leaves a legacy: Imagine something and make it happen

By Robin Inman On Dec.  24, 2018, The Gallery at 480 Main St. in downtown Malden closed. For almost 13 months, following an inaugural stint in late 2016, The Gallery had functioned as a lively arts and community center, drawing in hundreds of people for retail sales, exhibitions, performances, workshops and cultural events. Ose Schwab, the owner of Malden Creates, LLC, and the “chief instigator,” primary sponsor and manager of The Gallery, recently answered some questions for Neighborhood View. Why did The Gallery close? The Gallery closed because its lease with DSF Advisors LLC, owners of 480 Main Street, came to a close. But it was also time, given the emergent complexity of The Gallery operations, to end its temporary state. It was time to consider a sustainable plan for some iteration of The Gallery for the future, with a strategic funding, staffing, outreach, business (or nonprofit) development, and marketing plan that could ensure the best outcome. In addition, my husband Marcel, who served as the financial officer and operations manager of the gift shop, […]

Featured

“Inside Malden” interviews Interim Superintendent of Malden Public Schools, Dr. Charles Grandson IV

Driven by a desire to give back and to offer educational opportunities to young urban learners,  Dr. Charles Grandson IV, Interim Superintendent of the Malden Public Schools, reflects on his journey with education. He says his success is a “testament to what is happening every day in the public school systems across the nation.” In his case, though he had trouble and at one point could not read, his teachers did not dismiss him but did what they had to do to help him become what he is today. Though Grandson never imagined he would be a superintendent or principal, he says he has always had a bit of a teacher within. This inclination was nurtured by important learning encounters that would shape his future. His mother, a single parent, arranged for Grandson to be schooled away from the crime close to home. In a school district closer to Georgetown, Grandson experienced a “different” kind of education than he would have had in his own neighborhood on the South East side of Washington D.C. Throughout […]

Arts

For eyes and ears only

The cross section between visual art and music, for classical pianist Yelena Beriyeva, is in many ways second nature. “What is in common between [visual] artists and musicians is they all get to create,” Beriyeva said. In the spring of 2016, visual artists came together to attend a performance of classical composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” From the artists present at the workshop, and many more, over 40 inspired pieces of visual art were born. On Nov. 5, 2016 at Jenkins Auditorium at Malden High School, Beriyeva performed the renowned “Pictures at an Exhibition” to the backdrop of all the work created from the artists using the music as inspiration. The interesting part is Mussorgsky’s piece, Beriyeva said, was first inspired by visual art. With the passing of an artist friend, Mussorgsky wrote “Pictures at an Exhibition” through the careful study of his late friend’s artwork. “[Mussorgsky] basically dedicated this piece to a friend he lost to a sickness,” Beriyeva said. “We did it in the reverse. We tried to paint based on music.” […]