Violence Transformed Exhibitions, Performances and Events 2007-2015
Banner Art: Khalid Kodi
April 2007 witnessed the launching of Violence Transformed’s first visual arts exhibit in Doric Hall of the Statehouse of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The exhibit was held in concert with the Annual Victim Rights Conference of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA). Every year since 2007, the Statehouse Exhibit of Violence Transformed has served as the centerpiece of an annual series of visual and performing arts events designed to engage the public in acknowledgement and celebration of the transformative power of art. This first Statehouse exhibit was curated by community artists, academics and representatives of diverse community service and arts organizations who ultimately formed the core of a growing list organizational sponsors, contributing artists and visual and performing arts curators. Learn more about the organizational sponsors and key players in Violence Transformed.
Delve into the rich history of the early years of Violence Transformed by viewing our 2021 curated retrospectives:
"Celebrating Our Partners: A Retrospective Exhibition Series"
For a chronological digest of exhibitions, performances and programs from 2007-2015, jump to archived content by year:
2007
This inaugural exhibit was highlighted by a memorable display of works by young and emerging artists and by mature artists from throughout New England as well as by works selected from both local and international collections. The Maquette of “Ibis Ascending” by sculptor Judith McKie was provided to the exhibit by The Garden of Peace in remembrance of homicide victims and their families. It and other compelling works were celebrated at a Performing Arts Reception that opened with Taiko Drumming by Mark Rooney followed by an incredibly wide range of performances.
April 23-27, 2007
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
April 26, 2007, 3-9 PM, in conjunction with National Crime Victims Rights Awareness Week
Gail Bos, Carol Daynard, Mary Harvey and Margot Hurley (School of the Museum of Fine Arts), Leslie Foley (Massachusetts College of Art), and Jennifer Hughes and Marshall Hughes (Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center), in conjunction with Jonathan Shirland, Artistic Director of Violence Transformed
Designed as part of National Crime Victims Rights Awareness Week, this exhibition represents a collaboration among artists, activists, academics, museum professionals and community service providers working in the greater Boston area. We share a belief in the transformative power of art and art-making, and in artists’ ability to confront, mediate and challenge the prevalence of violence in contemporary society. The exhibition celebrates the diversity of visual cultures engaging with issues of political, sexual, domestic, and community violence that exist in Boston. From shrines to peace gardens, murals to performance art, quilts to video installations, our community is remarkably creative in using art to highlight violence, express collective horror, commemorate victims, foster healing and imagine alternatives.
April 22, 2007
Doric Hall, Hall of Flags, Grand Stair Case and Nurses Hall of the Massachusetts Statehouse.
This was Wheelock’s first Ubuntu/Violence Transformed exhibit. The 2007 Victim Rights Conference of the Massachusetts Office of Victims Assistance (MOVA) focused on the importance of “Voices United in Action,” working across agencies and disciplines to prevent crime, create positive change, and support crime victims in seeking healing and justice. Of particular note was MOVA’s pending legislation, S.802, a bill to strengthen the existing Victim Bill of Rights and return Massachusetts to its former status as a national leader in victim rights.
The conference began with an Awards Ceremony at which Mary Harvey, founding Director of Violence Transformed (and retiring Director of the Victims of Violence Program at the Cambridge Health Alliance) was honored by MOVA with a Lifetime Achievement Award. It closed with a Panel Discussion on Art and Public Policy chaired by Kathleen Bitetti, Director of the Boston Artists Foundation and was followed by a memorable opening reception of Performing Arts. at this event.
A reception featuring memorable performances and an array of interactive arts events was organized by Marshall Hughes, Jonathan Shirland, Gail Bos, Ann Tobey. These included:
Odaiko Drumming by Mark Rooney Spoken Word by the Teen Curators of Cloud Place Spoken Word by artist, poet and educator L’Merchie Frazier Dance Performance by Elders Group of Prometheus Dance Performance Piece by Present Tense Aparna Sindhoor by Navrassa Dance African Drumming Guitar Performance by Mike Verge, Garden of Peace Solo Voice by Marshall Hughes Dream catchers by Gail Bos Tree of Hope artmaking (organized by Ann Tobey)
2008
In 2008 we were able to begin expanding Violence Transformed beyond the Statehouse by sponsoring exhibits in three new venues, namely: “Youth Transforming Violence: Ubuntu in the Works” at Wheelock College’s Towne Art Gallery; “The Artist’s Voice” at Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center, an exhibit co-curated by community artists and representatives of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and Roxbury Community College; and “A Celebration of Art, Artists and Artmaking to Challenge and Mediate Violence, Foster Healing and Imagine Alternatives”, our first Violence Transformed exhibit at Northeastern University’s Snell Library Lobby, courtesy of the Northeastern University Campus Center on Violence Against Women.
The Artist’s Voice
April 14-24, 2008
Location:
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA
Description:
This was the first Violence Transformed exhibit held at the Roxbury Community College (RCC) Media Arts Center which has since served as a major venue for Violence Transformed. The curators for this exhibit were drawn from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Roxbury Community College who joined with one another to select compelling works by students, faculty and community artists alike.
Curators:
Gail Bos, Carol Daynard, Mary Harvey and Margot Hurley (School of the Museum of Fine Arts), Leslie Foley (Massachusetts College of Art), and Jennifer Hughes and Marshall Hughes (Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center), in conjunction with Jonathan Shirland, Artistic Director of Violence Transformed
Youth Transforming Violence: Ubuntu in the Works
April 22-26, 2008
Opening Reception:
April 22, 2008, 5-8 PM
Location:
Wheelock College, MA
Description:
This was Wheelock’s first Ubuntu/Violence Transformed exhibit.
Curators:
Ann Tobey and colleagues
April 28 – May 2, 2008
April 28, 2008, 6-9 PM
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Scheduled in concert with the Annual Victim Rights Conference of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, Violence Transformed 2008 brought together a range of artworks and perspectives in order to provoke debate, reflection and action. Our 2008 curatorial teams selected groups of work that expressed for them art’s transformative relationship with violence. We hoped that together their distinct voices would generate representative insight into the range of artistic strategies at work in the area today and leave visitors with a sense of pride in the resources and creative energies at work throughout the area. We also hoped the audience would draw inspiration and courage from the power of art to reach across boundaries and alleviate the fear and separation that breed violence. Art can lead us to a more positive place; it is a refuge we can all share, a sanctuary we can all visit, and an expression of resilience from which we can all learn.
Jonathan Shirland, Ron Wilhelmsen and Gail Bos
A Celebration of Art, Artists and Artmaking to Challenge and Mediate Violence, Foster Healing and Imagine Alternatives
September 8-21, 2008
Location:
Northeastern University Campus Center on Violence Against Women and Northeastern University Libraries
Curators:
Jon Shirland and Gloria Carrigg
2009
A main highlight of this year was the rapid expansion of Violence Transformed to many new and diverse venues, with Violence Transformed exhibits extending from early April into the first month of 2010. And in June, Barbara Hamm, Director of the Victims of Violence Program at the Cambridge Health Alliance (and a founding member of the core organizers of Violence Transformed) organized with the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training a performance of play “Ajax in Iraq” with a follow up panel discussion with psychologist Jaine Darwin and representative actors in the performance.
Violence Transformed Cambridge Art Association
April 2-30, 2009
Opening Reception:
April 4, 2009, 4-7 PM
Location:
Kathryn Schultz Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Curators:
Brenda Steinberg and Gail Bos, Cambridge Art Association
Children's Day of Remembrance
April 6, 2009
Opening Reception:
April 18, 2009, 3-5:30 PM
Location:
Enders Auditorium, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
Description:
First Day of Remembrance exhibit with Child Protection Program
Curators:
Carol Daynard and Laura Fishman, Violence Transformed
Violence Transformed: Artists on the Power of Art
April 19-May 31, 2009
Opening Reception:
April 19, 2009, 3 PM
Location:
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA
Description:
Selected contemporary works that examine how artists from many cultural traditions represent narratives of transformation provoked by violence.
Are You UBUNTU? Youth Transforming Violence
April 21-26, 2009
Opening Reception:
April 21, 2009, 5-8 PM
Location:
Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
Curators:
Ann Tobey and Ubuntu Colleagues
April 23, 2009
Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Violence Transformed: An Exhibition of Selected Works
April 27- May 1, 2009
Opening Reception:
April 28, 2009, 6-9 PM
Location:
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Description:
Scheduled in concert with the Annual Victim Rights Conference of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance.
Curator:
Jonathan Shirland
Violence Transformed: The Artist's Voice
May 3-31, 2009
Opening Reception:
May 3, 2009, 3-5 PM
Location:
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA
Artists:
SMFA-affiliated and community artists
Curators:
Mary Harvey, Gail Bos, Carol Daynard, Laura Fischman, Gloria Carrigg
May 3-31, 2009
Cloud Foundation, Boston, MA
Teen Curatorial Group of Cloud Place
June 2, 2009
Cambridge, MA
Ubuntu Quilt and Story Circle
June 2 – August 2, 2009
Location:
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA
Artists:
Artists of Ubuntu
Curator:
Barry Gaither
October 18, 2009 – January 10, 2010
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA
Cullen Washington
Barry Gaither
2010
Violence Transformed’s 2010 season of visual and performing arts events expanded once again with Lesley University’s Division of Creative Arts in Learning joining with Cambridge United for Peace and Justice to co-host Lesley’s first Violence Transformed exhibit. That exhibit was followed exhibits at the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Roxbury Community College, the State house, Wheelock College and Children’s Hospital; a “Trauma and Healing Poetry Reading” at The Burren in Somerville, MA; a performance of “And Still We Rise”; and an exhibit of works by and panel discussion with the Combat Paper artists at Harvard University’s Gutman Library who were awarded Violence Transformed's inaugural Artist Honorarium.
March 16-April 20, 2010
March 23, 2010, 4:30-6:30 PM
University Hall Atrium Gallery, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Co-sponsored by Violence Transformed, Lesley University’s Creative Arts in Learning Division, and Cambridge United for Peace and JusticeThe exhibit brought together historical posters from the 1960’s and 70’s and recent work by local artists. The posters included iconic work such as War is Not Healthy for Children and other Living Things and Ben Shahn’s Stop the H Bomb Tests. The posters expressed popular discontent with America’s wars against Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan; supported popular movements and revolutions in Portugal, Latin America and South Africa; and called for equal rights and justice for women, children and people of color. This was Lesley University’s first Violence Transformed exhibit.
Brenda Steinberg
April 1-June 30, 2010
April 18, 2010, 3-5:30 PM
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA
Barry Gaither
Charles White, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, Wilmer Jennings, and Elizabeth Catlett
April 20-24, 2010
April 20, 2010, 3:30-8 PM
Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
Reception performance: “And Still We Rise”, a collaborative theater project dedicated to healing, public awareness, and social change through empowering the voices of formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones
Ann Tobey and UBUNTU colleagues
April 24- May 8, 2010
April 27, 2010, 5-8 PM
Gutman Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
This exhibit opening included a panel discussion by commentators including Artist Mark Cooper of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and psychiatrist Jonathan Shay (MacArthur Fellow and author of Achilles in Vietnam).
Drew Cameron, Drew Matott, Mark Cooper
Gutman Library, Violence Transformed and Combat Paper Project
April 26- May 7, 2010
Opening Reception and performance:
April 29, 2010, 4-5:30 PM
Location:
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Description:
This signature event of Violence Transformed was an exhibition of works in varied media held at the Massachusetts State House in Boston and once again scheduled in concert with the annual Victims Rights Conference of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance. The exhibition drew the attention of government officials and the general public to art and artists as crucial sources of societal and community transformation. In 2010, this two-week long event served as the centerpiece of a series of exhibitions of visual and performing art located at the venues throughout April and May. The opening reception on April 29, 2010 included performances and a Violence Transformed Artist Honorarium awarded to Combat Paper.
Curators:
Jonathan Shirland, Gail Bos, Mary Harvey, Barbara Hamm, Carol Daynard, and Violence Transformed Organization Representatives: Barry Gaither (Museum of NCAAA), Ann Tobey (Ubuntu), Stella McGregor and the Teen Curators of Urbano
Children’s Hospital Day of Remembrance
April 27, 2010
Location:
Folkman Auditorium, Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Curators:
Carol Daynard and Laura Fishman
May 2, 2010
The Burren, Somerville, MA
Poet: Jericho Brown, Nonfiction Writer: Helen Epstein, Psychiatrist: Judith Lewis Herman, Poet Jericho Brown (author of Please), nonfiction-writer Helen Epstein (author of Children of the Holocaust) and psychiatrist Judith Lewis Herman (author of Trauma and Recovery and Director of Training at Victims of Violence) explore the subject of personal and communal violence and the role that their disciplines play in understanding, confronting and transforming it. Founded and introduced by Nadia Herman Colburn.
2010
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
Barry Gaither
May 10-31, 2010
May 16, 2010, 3-5:30 PM
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center, Boston, MA
Carol Daynard
2011
In 2011, Violence Transformed exhibits began with the Annual Statehouse Exhibit in early April and continued throughout September with the “Children = Hope” exhibit at the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists. And the Urbano Project of Jamaica Plain hosted an exhibit of Teen Art and Performance curated by Urbano’s Teen Curators. Lesley University continued its engagement with Violence Transformed through its division of Creative Arts and Learning, hosting an “Ubuntu Arts Retrospective,” with works selected from each of Ubuntu’s five years of “Youth Transforming Violence”.
April 11-23, 2011
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
April 15, 2011
Enders Research Building, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
This exhibit included works by pupils of the Ellis School in Roxbury, MA
Carol Daynard and Barry Gaither
April 19-23, 2011
Opening Reception:April 19, 2011, 5-8 PM
Location:
Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
Curators:
Ann Tobey and UBUNTU colleagues
April 24 – May 8, 2011
Urbano, Jamaica Plain, MA
This was the first Violence Transformed exhibit with the Urbano Project.
Stella McGregor and the Teen Curators of Urbano
May 1-31, 2011
Opening Reception:
May 15, 2011, 2-5 PM
Location:
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA
Curators:
Carol Daynard and Violence Transformed colleagues
Artists:
Works by community artists
May 25 – August 30, 2011
June 12, 2011, 4 PM
University Hall Atrium Gallery, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Ann Tobey and Ubuntu colleagues
May 8 – September 18, 2011
June 5, 2011, 3-6 PM
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA
Susan Thompson, Johnetta Tinker, Fern Cunningham, Karen Eutemey, Gail Bos, Gloretta Baynes, Lolita Parker, Jr., Ekua Holmes, Winifred Irish Hall, and L’Merchie Frazier
Barry Gaither
2012
In 2012, Roxbury Community College opened the season with the annual “Artist’s Voice” exhibit and a second exhibit featuring the works of students and faculty at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Roxbury Community College. In addition, artist and co-curator Ekua Holmes brought sparc! the artmobile to the exhibit so that folks in attendance could make art with the artists. Joanna Marinova and her colleagues at Press Pass TV opened our 2012 season with “What’s Beautiful Never Dies”, a multimedia event featuring live performances and unveiling for the first time, songs from the “What’s Beautiful Never Dies Project” composed by the performers who worked with the families of children murdered in Boston – designed and performed to celebrate and honor their lives. It was an unforgettable evening. A selection of these artists performed again at our annual Statehouse exhibit and at a luncheon hosted by MOVA for our curators, area politicians and policy makers, advocates and serve providers to recognize the outstanding contributions of survivors and advocates.
April 1 – June 1, 2012
May 6, 2012, 3-5 PM
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center, Boston, MA
Artists and curators were available to make art with attendees at sparc! The Art Mobile.
Community artists and artists affiliated with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Ekua Holmes and Mariah Lee Siegman
What is Beautiful Never Dies
April 5, 2012
Opening event:
7-9 PM
Location:
Mainstage Theater, Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center, Boston, MA
Description:
This multimedia event featured live performances and the premier unveiling of songs from the “What is Beautiful Never Dies” music project, honoring children murdered in Boston and their families. This was Press Pass TV’s first Violence Transformed event, and was organized by Joanna Marinova and Press Pass TV.
April 9 – 19, 2012
April 10, 2012, 5-8 PM
Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
The exhibit was a display of collaborative artwork created by local youth and supportive mentors. It was the sixth year that this exhibit had been hosted by the Juvenile Justice and Youth Advocacy Program (JJYA) at Wheelock College and conducted in collaboration with Violence Transformed.
Ann Tobey and Bridgit Paula
April 11, 2012, 9 AM-2 PM
Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Performances: Drew Ricciardi, Jae Lee, and the “What is Beautiful Never Dies” project.
April 19-27, 2012
April 19, 2012, 3:30-5:30 PM
Doric and Nurses Halls, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
An exhibit of works in varied media and an opening reception at which visitors met participating artists and enjoyed live music and dance performances.
April 25 – September 9, 2012
April 27, 2012, 5:00 PM
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA
Marlon Forrester
Barry Gaither
October 17, 2012
4-7 PM
Cambridge College
The City of Cambridge, Cambridge Health Alliance, and the organizers of the “21 Days of Questions, 365 Days of Action” kicked off the “21 Days Campaign” at Cambridge College. Violence Transformed and the Victims of Violence Program of the Cambridge Health Alliance co-hosted the kickoff event, gathering questions about domestic violence and encouraging participants to create T-shirts to form a clothesline of questions that would become the focal point for on-going action to address and prevent domestic violence. In addition, the Cambridge Health Alliance offered interactive forums and invited all employees to voice questions about violence in relationships, homes and communities, and create T-shirts for display on the Alliance’s companion Community of Care Clothesline Project. For more information go to: http://www.facebook.com/21Cambridge
December 1, 2012
Marran Theater, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Mary Harvey (Director of Violence Transformed and Founding Director/Senior Psychologist of the Victims of Violence Program at Cambridge Health Alliance) spoke on the “Arts in the CommonHealth: Engaging Creativity, Changing Expectations” panel on the second day of Lesley University’s “Arts in the CommonHealth” conference. Moderated by Vivien Marcow Speiser, the panel also included: Charles Washburn (Executive Director of VSA Massachusetts), Sean Caulfield (Co-Founder and Creative Director at ARTZ: Artists for Alzheimer’s), Alexa Miller (Owner of Arts Practica and Co-Creator of the Training the Eye Program at Harvard Medical School), and Sandra Bertman (Professor of Palliative Care, Medical Humanities and Arts).
December 5-8, 2012
University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Violence Transformed co-sponsored Jeff Lowenstein’s travel to South Africa’s “Engaging the Other Conference” where he presented written, video and photo documentation of the Lowenstein family’s return to Essen Germany, 74 years after flight from Nazi Germany. The title of the presentation was “Intergenerational Healing Journey of Return to Germany by Survivor and his Children: Confronting the Past, Engaging the Other in the Present” and was given by Edward Lowenstein, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, and Dunreith Kelly Lowenstein (Harvard). “The conference offered a unique opportunity to listen to scholars who have introduced new avenues of inquiry in the field of transgenerational effects in the aftermath of extreme violence from different subject positions, including the perspectives of bystanders, survivors, perpetrators and their descendants. Conference discussion will move from the epicenter of the most traumatic historical events to interdisciplinary reflection on how societies and smaller groups of people affected by these histories have engaged with processes of working through the trauma as an attempt to create new cycles of repetition –empathic connection with the Other.” http://www.engagingtheother.co.za/
2013
2013 was a year in which new venues joined existing venues to sponsor new and exciting Violence Transformed visual and performing arts exhibits, with the Harriet Tubman House Gallery of United South End Settlements, Cambridge College and Jamaica Plain’s Connelly Library each hosting a unique Violence Transformed event. Lesley University continued its involvement with Violence Transformed, kicking off the year by joining in the world wide “One Billion Rising” call to express solidarity with women and to bring awareness of women’s struggles through dance. It was also the first year in which events sponsored in the Fall of 2012 by Cambridge College and in the Winter of 2012 by Lesley University laid the groundwork for Spring “follow-ups” in 2013. In Oct 2012, Violence Transformed joined with the City 0f Cambridge, Cambridge College, the Victims of Violence Program and other community organizations to launch the “21 days of Questions,365 Days of Action” Campaign to address domestic violence. In the Spring 2013, this action was followed by the “Artists Respond to Domestic Violence.” At the Annual State House exhibit, Violence Transformed presented Artist Honorariums to two young singers, Carol Rogers and Kassidy deSaugus (selected for the award by Deon Mose of “Music Saves Lives”), and to SMFA students Scott Cummings, Katie Wild and Greg Lookerse for their co-curation of our first official Student/Faculty Exhibit. In addition, we honored three of our main collaborating organizations: Ubuntu Arts, Roxbury Community College Media Arts Center and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists.
February 14, 2013
University Hall Atrium, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Performances: Lesley University’s Dance/Movement Therapy Graduate Students, Undergraduate Dance Team, Expressive Therapy Graduate Students, and Conscious Kinetics . Violence Transformed and Lesley University invited the community to rise up and join the global movement to end violence against women. One Billion Rising, a national movement, is a call to men and women to form an alliance in an act of solidarity and support for women around the world, demonstrating the commonality of their struggles and our collaborative power to take action and bring awareness through dance. In addition to dance performances and a “Speak Out,” there was a screening and discussion of "Power and Control: Domestic Abuse in America."
Violence Transformed 2013: The Artist’s Voice
March 4 – April 26, 2013
Opening Reception:
March 7, 2013, 6-8 PM at Harriet Tubman House Gallery, United South End Settlements, Boston, MA
Performances:
University Hall Atrium, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Lesley University’s Dance/Movement Therapy Graduate Students, Undergraduate Dance Team, Expressive Therapy Graduate Students, and Conscious Kinetics
This year, the Harriet Tubman House presented “Violence Transformed: The Artist’s Voice.” Collectively, the works of participating artists sought alternatives to violence and gave expression to themes of protest, refuge, healing, commemoration and outrage. Their responses differed not only in kind but in medium. Included in the exhibit were photography, painting, drawing, collage, graphics, printmaking and mixed media work.
This was Harriet Tubman House Gallery’s first Violence Transformed exhibit.
Curators:
Carol Daynard and Chelsea Revelle
March 16-30, 2013
March 23, 2013, 4-8 PM
Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA
In October 2012, Violence Transformed and Cambridge College helped to initiate the City of Cambridge’s campaign to address and prevent domestic violence: “21 Days of Questions, 365 Days of Action” . . . with speeches, displays, music and artmaking activites documented in our “21 Days of Questions” album. We also sent out a call to artists, asking them for their response. The result, in March, was an exhibition of moving and evocative visual works (including the “Women Lost and Found” sculptures of Ruth Rosner, installations by Myrna Balk, paintings by Beverly Rippel, Hope Ricciardi, and others plus quilts by women of the Incest Resource Center). The opening event included musical performances by Deon Mose and by Carol Rogers and Kassidy de Saugus (the two young winners of the “Music Saves Lives” competition), stunning theatrical performances by The Survivor Theater Project, spinning and weaving with artists Catherine Tutter and Cheyenne McCarter(“Spin a Yarn, Weave a Life”) and a display of “Beacon to the Dream”: lanterns by Medicine Wheel. The entire event was wonderfully supported by The Cambridge Arts Council, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Incest Resources Inc., and Cambridge Women’s Center.
Hope Ricciardi, Mary Harvey and Phillip Page
March 26 – March 28, 2013
Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA
This 3-day series of interactive events by Cambridge College faculty and students was designed to raise awareness and address the issue of domestic violence.
“Voices from the Field” presentations by Dr. Katherine King, Prof. Willy Drinkwater and Cambridge College alum Caitlin Piccuirro, on the impact of domestic violence, which was followed by a special interactive music therapy presentation by SoulWorks Rhythm TM.
“Mother’s Day,” screening of a documentary by Dr. Nan Hocking-McDonough that gave voice to the silencing and suffering her mother endured, which was followed by a discussion.
“Battered Women, Folklore and Domestic Violence,” a presentation by Dr. Massomeh Namavar that explored domestic violence through clinical work with incarcerated women, Persian folklore, art and storytelling.
Imagining Ubuntu: The Youth Speak
Opening Reception:
April 9, 2013, 5-8 PM
Location:
Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
Description:
Since its inception in 2007, Violence Transformed has enjoyed the participation in and partnership with Wheelock College’s Department of Juvenile Justice and Youth Advocacy and the Ubuntu Arts Project pioneered by Dr. Ann Tobey. In 2013, Ubuntu Arts once again inspired groups of Boston-area youth to consider the meaning of Ubuntu in their lives and to translate that understanding into collaborative works of art. These photos attest to the continuing vibrancy of Ubuntu arts and the quite amazing creativity of youth who are truly able to imagine a world without violence.
Curators:
Ann Tobey and Ubuntu colleagues
Violence Transformed 2013: Discovering the Transformative Power Of Art
Opening Reception:
April 23, 2013, 3-5 PM
Location:
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Description:
Every year, the State House of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hosts a Violence Transformed Exhibit in Doric Hall … the starting place for all tours of the State House by visitors throughout the world and school children from the Greater Boston Area. We estimate that as many as 3,000 people view Violence Transformed’s Annual State House exhibit, which each year features works by artists from throughout New England, representing many of our participating venues, and curated by community, student and faculty artists. Violence Transformed 2013 was no different. This year’s exhibit in Doric Hall featured works representative of other Violence Transformed 2013 exhibits as well as outstanding performances curated by Hope Ricciardi. These included: the amazing young voices of Carol Rogers and Kassidy de Saugus (winners of the Mose Music Management “Music Saves Lives” competition) who also performed at the Cambridge College opening in March; the guitar expertise of Judge Milton Wright and the harmonica wizardry of our own Ron Wilhelmsen; original choreography by the Elders Group of Prometheus Dance, and, once again, an original Spoken Word Performance by the young artists of the Urbano Project in Jamaica Plain.
May 3–June 1, 2013
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center
Featured visual works curated by SMFA graduate students Ivor Scott Cummings, Katie Wilde and Greg Lookerse, sculptural installations by Mass Art Students working with artists Ekua Holmes, Khalid Kodi and Bianca Martinez, and wonderful chairs created for Violence Transformed by Gail Bos and the 4th grade students of Mather Elementary School.
Ivor Scott Cummings, Katie Wild and Greg Lookersee
May 1–31, 2013
Connelly Branch of the Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain, MA
Gloria Carrigg and Gail Bos
May 13, 2013, 6-8 PM
Connelly Branch of the Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain, MA
Gloria Clarrigg and Gail Bos
Mardi Reed
Visual journaling is a process that uses mark making as a form of expression. Through a series of exercises, participants were introduced to a wonderfully simple form of art-making: gesture marks and contour lines that can capture an individual’s personal style. These marks, made on scrap paper or in personal journals, can capture your unique response to the inner and outer worlds. In this supportive and engaging atmosphere, participants followed a process that draws upon creative energy to encourage growth and healing, foster well-being and imagine alternatives. Art making can be a breath of fresh air in your life and has the potential to effect change and transform environments.
Idols in the Mirror: Postcards from the Scene of the Crime
May 26–December 31, 2013
Location:
Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists
Curator:
Barry Gaither
Artist:
Rene Westbrook
2014
2014 was an amazing year by any standards! In addition to our annual Statehouse, Ubuntu, Student/Faculty and Museum of the NCAA exhibits, Cambridge College joined us for a third year, this time joining the Harriet Tubman House Gallery of the United South End Settlement in sponsoring a second, Cambridge-based “Artist’s Voice” exhibit. The Media Arts Center at RCC hosted three new Violence Transformed exhibits in June, July and August respectively and Lesley University hosted two distinct Violence Transformed exhibits: one by the artists of project eXodus entitled “”Can Crimes Against Humanity be Prevented” in conjunction with the first “Future of the Past” conference of the University’s Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, and the other “Images of Memory, Images of Testimony” co-curated by Violence Transformed and AAMARP (African American Master Artists in Residency Program) at Northeastern University. In addition, Copley Place hosted both an exhibit of Violence Transformed at Center Court and a fundraising event in the Sky Lobby overlooking Center Court. The big highlight of our 2014 year was our first exhibit and performing arts fundraising event at Copley Place where violist Drew Ricciardi and the young, award winning classical musicians of “Project Step” joined with jazz and hip hop performers as donors and art lovers surveyed the works of art on sale, met the artists of Violence Transformed and Copley Place provided a spectacular buffet in the Sky Lobby. Equally important were the “crossing the river” collaborations, the international contributions to our “What About War?” exhibit at RCC and a number of works that truly raised the bar.
February 15–22, 2014
University Hall Atrium Gallery, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Elliot Salloway, Manuel Schroeder & and the young artists of Project eXodus
Elliot Salloway artist’s statement: “In spite of much research that demonstrates the reluctance of humans to kill one another, the world has had over 262,000,000 people murdered by genocide in the 20th century. This body of work poses the questions of how is this possible and what can be done to prevent it in the future? Because art can only ask questions, not answer them, my images are meant to stimulate discussion among viewers. This will hopefully help to expand both public and political awareness of the complexities and possibilities of solutions to these questions.” Manuel Schroeder artist statement: “The messages we get through advertising, tv, internet and other public media have two basic objectives: the first is to create fear, the second is to fuel desire. The codex of colors and words often mask the evil behind. My work is concerned with uncovering those hidden messages.” About Project eXodus: “The mission is to create awareness of the importance and complexity of preventing genocide which we have expanded to include all human rights violations and crimes against humanity. One of Evil’s greatest tools is that of apathy and closed mindedness. Project eXodus looks to present art as an instrument of communication, which has a long cultural history going back to ancient cave art, religious art, propaganda up to todays advertising campaigns. Through the language of art ‘project eXodus’ seeks to stimulate sustainable impact in terms of awareness and discussions among young people and professional artists addressing the question: are crimes against humanity preventable? The founders of project eXodus are Dr. Elliot Salloway and Manuel Schroeder.”
Month 2–Month 15, 2014
University Hall Amphitheater, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Co-sponsored by Lesley University’s Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences (specifically the Expressive Therapies Program, the Peace and Conflict Program, and the Institute for Arts and Health), the evening consisted of three presentations: “A Story of Intergenerational Healing” by Jeff Kelly Lowenstein –Sharing the journey of his American Jewish family’s response to the trauma that they experienced during the Second World War, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein will discuss how they worked with a German teacher on a return trip to Essen, Germany in 2012, which sparked a continuing process of mutual, intergenerational healing. “The Vienna Project” by Professor Karen Frostig –“The Vienna Project, a new social action memorial project” features performative interventions, situated on the streets of Vienna to mark the 75th anniversary year of the “Anschluss,” when racial persecution began in Vienna in 1938. The project grew out of Karen Frostig’s process of recovering her family’s history in Vienna. The participatory design of The Vienna Project is unique, joining history with text art, street art, video, performance art, technology and education. “16 Photographs at Ohrdruf” by Professor Matthew Nash –With only a small stack of his grandfather’s photos for guidance, filmmaker Matthew Nash tries to understand a family secret that began on April 4, 1945. His search reveals the horror of the first concentration camp found by the Allies and the amazing story of the soldiers who uncovered the Holocaust. The evening concluded with a “Spoken Word” Performance by Steven Hosking, Stefanie Belnavis, Catherina Clark, and Nadia Sophia (Expressive Therapies and Dance/Movement Therapy students, Lesley’s Graduate School of Arts and Social Studies).
March 11–April 30, 2014
United South End Settlement’s Harriet Tubman Gallery, Boston, MA
Carol Daynard and Chelsea Revelle
March 23–April 12, 2014
March 29, 2014, 4-8 PM
The Massachusetts Ave Gallery, Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA
Hope Ricciardi and Mary Harvey
April 3-28, 2014
March 29, 2014, 4-8 PM
Marran Gallery, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
This exhibit was part of the “Arts and Global Health: Art, Memory and Testimony in the Aftermath of Trauma” conference taking place at Lesley University April 11-12, 2014. The conference asked, “How might the arts facilitate an awareness, expression and processing of powerful feelings such as fear, anger, and grief and help communities heal and advocate for their needs in the aftermath of trauma?” In light of atrocities such as genocide, war, school shootings, and community and gun violence, the arts are powerful “containers” in that they can be used to create symbolic metaphors that hold and ultimately transform painful experiences. Additionally, visual art, dance, movement, drama, writing, and music can be used to identify the complexity of difficult experiences and open up a multiplicity of perspectives —expressing feelings, bearing witness, testifying and remembering—which together uncover new meanings and raise further questions at the individual and communal level.
Hope Ricciardi, Ruth Rosner, and Gail Bos and Community Artists, and Artists of AAMARP (African American Master Artists in Residency Program) at Northeastern University: Jeff Chandler, Marlon Forrester, L’Merchie Frazier, Shea Justice, Khalid Kodi, Hakim Raquib, Susan Thompson, and Gloretta Baynes
Gloretta Baynes and Gail Bos
April 14-22, 2014
Towne Family Theater, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
Anne Tobey & Ubuntu colleagues
April 25, 2014
The Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance, Seaport Hotel, Boston, MA
Hope Ricciardi
April 28–May 9, 2014
Doric Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
The State House exhibit featured work from artists throughout New England. Columns were curated by Jon Shirland with contributing artists Gail Bos, Carol Daynard, Ruth Rosner, Ekua Holmes, Mary Harvey, Hope Ricciardi, Barry Gaither (Executive Director, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists), and Ann Tobey (Director of Wheelock College’s Ubuntu). The exhibit received rave reviews and, we learned from Statehouse staff, became a focal point of interest to tourists visiting Massachusetts, school children of all ages, the Statehouse staff and rangers! The work was truly stunning. The opening event was well attended and highlighted by a medley of musical works by violist Drew Ricciardi.
May 4-31, 2014
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center, Boston, MA
Christine Tinsley, Richard Rozewski, and Ekua Holmes
June 1-30, 2014
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA
Myrna Balk, Gloretta Baynes, Terry Boutelle, Emily Corbato, Walter Crump, Mary Harvey, Ekua Holmes, Steven Muller, Ann Tobey, Ubuntu Artists, Ron Wilhelmsen, and Nancy Wyllie
Gail Bos
June 8, 2014–April 30, 2015
Museum of the National Center for Afro-American Artists
Barry Gaither
Jimmy James Greene and Billy Jackson
July 1-31, 2014
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College, Boston, MA
Carol Daynard
August 1–September 12, 2014
Resnikoff Gallery, Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center
Installations, Sculpture, Quilts and Wall Work featuring artists Gloretta Baynes, Terry Boutelle, Gloria Cardiff, Kay Doslezal, Minoo Emami, LMerchie Frazier, Mary Gillis, Ekua Holmes, Milan Klic, Khalid Kodi, Morris Norvin, Hope Ricciardi, Brenda Steinburg, and Susan Thompson. The Gallery Discussion was led by Dr. Barry Gaither, Director of The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists.
Gail Bos and Ruth Rosner
(Un)Covering Violence Transformed” Exhibit and Fundraising Celebration
August 15- September 24, 2014
Center Court and Sky Lobby, Copley Place, Boston, MA
Description:
Copley Place generously hosted a fundraising event to celebrate the work of Violence Transformed. The evening included refreshments, artist discussions of works on display, performances by local students and artists, and an opportunity to support both Violence Transformed and area artists by purchasing original works of art. About the Center Court Exhibit: The works on display focused on the human body as the site of our experiences and the recorder of visible and invisible encounters of admiration or violence. Garments and other hard and software associated with identifying and protecting ourselves comment profoundly on our vulnerability and our resilience. Whether through self-declaration or camouflage, armor or sheer revelation, wearables and related constructions document how we regard ourselves and the world around us. Labels accompanying each work provided additional perspective on the body and body gear. About the Fundraiser and 10×10 Project: A number of community artists contributed pieces to support the fundraising efforts of Violence Transformed. Additionally, some artists were asked to create pieces on 10”x10” canvases in honor of the event that celebrate the power of art to empower individuals and communities, address issues of protest, refuge, healing and commemoration and imagine alternatives to violence.
Curators:
Jon Shirland and Barry Gaither (Visual Art); Hope Ricciardi (Performance Art)
2015
2015, our 9th year, marked ongoing expansion and achievement. Between March and September, we held 9 Violence Transformed exhibits: 2 at Lesley University; 3 at RCC’s Media Arts Center; the John Wilson Retrospective Exhibit at the Museum of the National Center of Afro American Artists; the Annual Statehouse Exhibit; Ubuntu Arts at Wheelock College, The Artist’s Voice at the Harriet Tubman Gallery, and Art Speaks Truth to Power at Cambridge College. Moreover, in the Fall, the African American Master Artists in Residency Program at Northeastern University began planning “Sankofa,” its first Violence Transformed exhibit and Gloretta Baynes, Chair of AAMARP, co-curated a Violence Transformed exhibit for the second year running (last year at Lesley, this year at RCC).
In addition to an impressive roster of exhibits, Violence Transformed achieved two important grants, allowing us to diversify our programming, serve new audiences, and preserve our near decade-long history. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Presidential Humanism in Medicine Grant Award made it possible for us to sponsor a series of six Artist-Led Workshops for Health Care professionals, and a David Bor Library Foundation Grant to create a digital archive of Violence Transformed. Finally, a major highlight of Violence Transformed 2015 was our transition from Cambridge Health Alliance as our fiscal sponsor, to a new fiscal sponsorship alliance with the Public Health Advocacy Institute in Boston. Visit PHAI’s website for more information about their work.
March 4–April 17, 2015
Harriet Tubman House Gallery United South End Settlements
Carol Daynard (Violence Transformed) and Chelsea Revelle, Director of Arts & Culture Programs (United South End Settlements)
March 9–18, 2015
Lesley University Graduate School of Arts & Social Sciences, Washburn Auditorium, Brattle Square Campus
A Conference and Companion Exhibit Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Hope Ricciardi (Violence Transformed) and Nancy Beardall & Meenakshi Chaabra (Lesley University Faculty)
March 21–April 10, 2015
The Massachusetts Avenue Gallery at Cambridge College
Hope Ricciardi and Mary Harvey (Violence Transformed), Phillip Page, Director of Business, Government & Community Relations (Cambridge College)
April 1–21, 2015
Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College
Collaborative works by area youth
Ann Tobey, Associate Professor, Wheelock College
April 22–May 6, 2015
Massachusetts Statehouse Exhibit with Curated Columns & Digital Display
Jonathan Shirland with Violence Transformed 2015 Curatorial Team’s Curated Columns*
May 1–May 28, 2015
Resnikoff Gallery, Media Arts Center, Roxbury Community College
Works by student and faculty artists from SMFA (School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and Roxbury Community College
Ekua Holmes and Richard Rozewski (Massachusetts College of Art & Design), Gilda Sharpe Etteh (Roxbury Community College), and Christine Tinsley (SMFA)
May 17, 2015–January 9, 2016
The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
Barry Gaither
June 2–July 15, 2015
Resnikoff Gallery, Media Arts Center, Roxbury Community College
Reception featured Haiku Performance by L’Merchie and Gallery Talk by Barry Gaither
L’Merchie Frazier
July 17–August 31, 2015
Resnikoff Gallery, Media Arts Center, Roxbury Community College
Featuring Musical Performances and Gallery Talk by Barry Gaither
Gail Bos, Gloretta Baynes, Ruth Rosner and Radiant Jasmine
See our 2021 curated exhibition series taking a look at the early years Violence Transformed:
"Celebrating Our Partners: A Retrospective Exhibition Series"