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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 …

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-at-large NEW BEDFORD, MA – When Dena Haden, director of downtown’s Co-Creative Center and founding member of the public art mural group SuperFlat NB, received an unexpected email some months back, she couldn’t have imagined the consequences opening it would have on the reputation of New Bedford as a uniquely creative …

By Steven Froias Writer-at-large for #NBcreative In a recent conversation with a friend, she told me how much she enjoyed taking advantage of working on the porch of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum during the pandemic. RJD – sensing the need for people to escape from their homes – offered up free wi-fi and …

Cites New Bedford Creative, City Artists in acceptance   NEW BEDFORD, MA – City of New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell got a remarkable surprise when he attended The U.S. Conference of Mayors 91st Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. last week.  The Conference of Mayors, with Americans for the Arts, awarded Mayor Mitchell its national award …

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-At-Large One of the most defining dates on the cultural calendar is the first full weekend in January. That’s when the legitimately world-famous New Bedford Whaling Museum annual Moby-Dick Marathon takes place. This year, it happens from Friday, January 6 and continues until Sunday, January 8, finishing around noon on that …

By Steven Froias #NBcreative Writer-At-Large You know when you receive sustained applause, whoops of joy and shouts of appreciation that you’ve done something right.  On Sunday, Dec. 4, filmmaker Ethan de Aguiar, co-producer Beatriz Oliveira, and the speakers and performers at the a special private screening of the short film, “Love Letters for New Bedford” …

This article was originally published by Seth Chitwood for SouthCoast Today/The Standard-Times on November 18, 2022. NEW BEDFORD — After the success of the “New Bedford Love Letters” project in September, a new short film around the culmination of New Bedford Creative’s work this year is set to premiere at The Whaling Museum on Dec. …

NEW BEDFORD, MA — For the second consecutive year, New Bedford Creative is tapping into the knowledge and expertise of the city’s very own creative entrepreneurs to help provide guidance and support to other artists. Peer-to-Peer Sessions returns on Nov. 1, 2022, and will continue on a monthly basis through April, 2023. NB Creative Peer-to-Peer …

A creative city is energized not only by the residents who have always called it home, but also by the new residents who are attracted to the social and cultural experience of living in New Bedford. Which is the ‘why’ of how Julia Roth and Cedric “Vise1” Douglas became Creative Ambassadors for the city.  “I …

There’s probably no more nourishing New Bedford artist – or Environmental Alchemist, as she refers to herself – than Rhonda M. Fazio. And that is meant literally as well as figuratively.  Many know Rhonda through her work with Coastal Foodshed at its New Bedford Farmers Markets and other special events. There, she teaches the “Art …

By Steven Froias for the Creative Ambassadors project As a Creative Ambassador, Iva Brito brings both a historical and world view to the role, through a spiritual prism.  As a native of Cabo Verde, West Africa, she states that she channels her “nostalgic love of her birthplace through her talents” which results in a Love …

By Steven Froias for the Creative Ambassadors project Perhaps no other Creative Ambassador’s journey to New Bedford has been as epic – and fraught –  as that of Gerardo Beltrán Salinas.  Beltrán Salinas worked for more than 30 years as a journalist in Santiago de Chile. When he and his family made the decision to …

By Steven Froias for the Creative Ambassadors project “At the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC),  we have worked on many initiatives and projects mostly working to help working-class immigrant families build a better life for themselves here in New Bedford,” states Brian Pastori, who has worked at the CEDC since 2005.  He explains that “the …

By Steven Froias for the Creative Ambassadors project There aren’t many people who would accept this mission: to co-create, activate and celebrate in every neighborhood of all 20 square miles of the City of New Bedford during a sprawling three-day arts and culture festival.  But Beatriz Oliveira did.  And the result was a resounding success …

By Steven Froias For the Creative Ambassadors project It’s common knowledge that whales have a language all their own. But, what’s uncommon is the specific message the “Secret City Whales” have for us. In fact, their words are Love Letters for New Bedford.  “Secret City Whales” is the project of Creative Ambassador Mandy Fraser. The …

By Steven Froias For the Creative Ambassadors project As we travel through this life  We realize we’re not alone  As we share our good, open up our hearts,  We’ll find joy we’ve never known (When we…)   Love each other through  Till we reach the other side  We must Love each other through  Now’s not …

NewBedfordCreative.org story-telling series and special projects feature Creative Ambassadors NEW BEDFORD, MA  — The art of storytelling is as old as cave paintings and as modern as the Internet. The stories we tell define us and illuminate our journey through time. At this time in New Bedford, a new storytelling initiative is about to begin – with …