By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large It started as a simple idea.  Sensing a chill in the cultural zeitgeist after the 2016 election, performance artist, DJ and dance enthusiast  Andy Anello felt the need to bring people together just to dance away their blues – and connect with one another during a disjointed time.  So, he ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large In a world filled with constant change, finding a sense of shelter has never been more important. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or creative, shelter provides us with a space where we can retreat, rejuvenate, and discover ourselves anew.  For the past five years,  the Massachusetts Design, Art, and Technology Institute ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative writer-at-large In recent years, New Bedford’s North End has witnessed the emergence of various public art initiatives that have not only transformed the visual landscape but also served as powerful tools for change. Two “Art is Everywhere” projects that I revisited in May while on The Ave, as Acushnet Avenue is ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large NEW BEDFORD, MA – Lee Blake, President of the New Bedford Historical Society, is excited. Which usually means that something wonderful and significant is about to happen in the City of New Bedford. The cause of Blake’s excitement is the imminent arrival – or rather return – of a giant ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock and totally avoiding traditional and social media, you probably already know that the New Bedford Festival Theatre is presenting the exuberant musical “The Wiz” at the Zeiterion beginning this week.  Why would you know that? Because the promotion campaign for the production has ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large NEW BEDFORD, MA – A few years ago I was walking out of a convenience store in my west end, New Bedford neighborhood when I caught sight of a guy in a parked car who had just done the same.  There in the passenger seat was the distinctive facial hair, ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large If you’ve ever peered into the wings alongside the Zeiterion Theatre stage, you may have glimpsed him. If you’ve ever sat on stage for a Stage Door Live! concert, you know he’s been looking you over. And, if you’ve ever performed on the Z stage yourself, you definitely feel his ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large Despite being in the title of the city’s unique monthly celebration AHA! New Bedford – which stands for Art, History, Architecture – that last item seems to me to get short shrift as a subject that’s given a lot of close scrutiny from a cultural perspective. Which is surprising given ...

Over 70 projects and individual artists benefit from the City of New Bedford’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through grant programs ARTnet, Art is Everywhere, and Wicked Cool Places   NEW BEDFORD, MA  — Over thirty cultural events, programs, and special projects, and forty individual artists will receive Wicked Cool Places, ARTnet, and Art is Everywhere funding ...

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large The theme of March’s AHA! New Bedford is Women’s Work, especially appropriate as March is also Women’s History Month.  One event happening on AHA! Thursday, March 9 stands out for me – The opening of the 5th annual IGNITE: Youth Showcase of Art inspired by the Historic Women of the ...