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Winchester Open Studios 2024

11/23/2024

Over 50 artists and performing musicians warmed up a cold rainy day at eight different locations at our 2nd annual Open Studios.

See Winchester Open Studios page for more photos and links to our participating artists.

Photo credit: Peter Pulsifer

Riverwalk Sculpture Park is born

11/15/2024

Arts Winchester was recently awarded a Town of Winchester Community ARPA grant to build a small sculpture park at the end of Shore Road on the Griffin Museum's property.

Work got underway on October 26, 2024 with an extensive invasive clean-up by town volunteers organized by the Conservation Commission. That work was quickly followed by MC Landscaping leveling the grounds.

On November 5, a crew from Winchester's DPW made moving 16 enormous fieldstone boulders into place easy.  Sculptor Josh Ruder spent the next 5 days sculpting two benches from the stones. He returns on November 20 for the finishing touches.

In parallel, Nevola Irrigation and Lighting has been installing irrigation and wiring for future lighting.  MC Landscaping returned the week of November 12 to install the stone dust pathways and sod.

Board member Cynthia Randall, art consultant, in addition to her contributions throughout, selected two sculptures for installation in the next two months. Stay tuned for updates!

Behind the scene, Elaine Vreeland, Town Conservation Administrator, helped us navigate all the appropriate approvals with the Conservation Commission and then MA Department of Environmental Protection.

Julie Khuen provided for her guidance and expertise with initial landscape design, helping us place stones, envision initial plantings. We can't wait for the plants in the spring!

Ann Storer joined our team as a member of the Conservation Commission but contributed so much more. We could not have done this without her design walk throughs, initial sketches, buckets, tarps, bricks, wetland expertise, construction expertise, and, most importantly, boundless energy!

Our partnership with Crista Dix and the Griffin Museum was critical to the project from idea through execution.

As always, the Arts Winchester is fortunate for its all-volunteer Board who provides art leadership, legal contract negotiation, business and resident input, financial administration, and so much more.

I am so grateful for the teamwork and support from everyone involved and for the encouragement from people just passing by seeing the progress.

Hilda Wong-Doo
Board President

Goodbye to virtual and real artworks

10/31/2024

We had to say goodbye to some of our initial pieces on the inaugural Riverwalk exhibit on Oct 31.

Thankfully, Laura Hermann documented it for posteriority on WinCAM's Winchester Inside Episode 3.

Click Here to view it now!

Summer Photo Exhibit - 2024

9/29/2024

And just like that, Griffin's annual outdoor summer exhibit is in the books. This year the Vision(ary) exhibit featured photo cubes, student exhibit Photosynthesis, and sidewalk art featuring themes about community and our Town with artists from near and far.

Griffin Terrace Series 2024

9/23/2024

This year's Griffin Terrace Series including three events featuring 30 artists.

June 1: Town Day Beer Garden organized by Winchester Chamber of Commerce featuring local classic rock band Sounds like Chicken

June 8: Porchfest featuring Diver9, Uptown Girls, Strawberries and Scream, and Big Cy & the Early Bird Specials

Aug 10: Beer Garden organized by Arts Winchester featuring Shirim Klezmer Orchestra

We are grateful for the Winchester Cultural Council for their annual sponsorship of the Griffin Terrace Series.

THANK YOU to En Ka Society

9/21/2024

As part of Spirit Weekend 2024, AWI Board members gathered on a rainy Saturday morning to thank En Ka for their generous grant that enabled AWI to purchase their first permanent sculpture.

Dale Rogers, the artist, wanted to "convey an uplifting sense of family, community, and harmony." This is a very fitting contribution from the En Ka Society who uplifts all of Winchester. Thank you!

Pictured: AWI Board Members Cynthia Randall; Hilda Wong-Doo; Kathleen McKool, 2024 En Ka Gifts Chair; Jennifer Warner, En Ka Fundraising Chair; Kathleen Coughlin, En Ka President. Not pictured: Kevin Drum, AWI Board Member.
Photo credit: Shukong Ou

2024 Youth Art Tiles

9/19/2024

We are so excited to expand our Youth Art this year highlighting work by over 50 students from Winchester's Public Schools, Studio on the Common, Winchester Community Music School, and Winchester School of Chinese Culture.

The Winchester Public School exhibit is curated by Visual Art Department Chair, Jennifer Levatino. This exhibit is made possible by a generous grant from The Winchester Foundation for Educational Excellence (WFEE). We are thrilled that WFEE has funded this exhibit for a second year and expanded it so that more work can be included. Special thanks to Anna Paradis, Dean of Student Life at the Winchester High School for advocating for our young artists.

New, this year, Studio on the Common, Winchester School of Chinese Culture, and Winchester Community Music School sponsored tiles are showcasing student work from their schools. The Winchester Community Music School is featuring two young learners, along with an adult learner, via Hoverlay, our augmented reality platform. Scan the QR code on the Mt. Vernon Street tile near the Aberjona River to enjoy their performances.

All sidewalk tiles are designed by artist Marissa Mazzone.

Stroll through the Cultural District to see all our 2024 tiles, including our local business sponsored tiles featuring local photographers curated by the Griffin Museum.

Bronwen S, Ambrose Elementary School, Grade 4

Olivia B, Ambrose Elementary School, Grade 2

Chloe W, Ambrose Elementary School, Grade 5

Leighton P, Brynn R, Norah K, Lincoln Elementary School, Grade 5

Michaela G (left), Reagan S (right), Grade K, Lincoln Elementary School

Calvin V, Lincoln Elementary School, Grade K

Sierra F, Lynch Elementary School, Grade 5

Suwen Z, Lynch Elementary School, Grade 2

Yaseen E, Lynch Elementary School, Grade K

Evelyn F, Zachary S, Curtis A, McCall Middle School, Grade 8

Sophia G, McCall Middle School, Grade 8

Allen C, McCall Middle School, Grade 7

Fiona H, Emily D, Boden D, McCall Middle School, Grade 8

Talia I, McCall Middle School, Grade 8

William W (top left), Zach S (top right), Cole D (bottom right), Vivian B (bottom left), McCall Middle School, Grade 8

Emma S, Vinson-Owen Elementary School, Grade K

Annabel K, Vinson-Owen Elementary School, Grade K

Henry H, Vinson-Owen Elementary School, Grade 1

Audra M, Winchester High School, Grade 12

Catherine B, Winchester High School, Grade 9

Celia L, Winchester High School, Grade 11

Nadia N, Grade 10; Alta O, Grade 11; Lukas S, Grade 11, Winchester High School

Ryan M, Winchester High School, Grade 12

Vanssa K, Zoe M, Winchester High School, Grade 9

Grace G, Winchester High School, Grade 12

Gwen G, Grade 10; Ana Danzoll, Grade 11; Chloe D, Grade 10, Winchester High School

Sofia S, Grade 9 (top left); Jaime W, Grade 12 (top right); Ruairi S, Grade 12 (bottom right); Sofia E, Grade 9 (bottom left), Winchester High School

Giavanna D, Muraco Elementary School, Grade 4

Keya B, Muraco Elementary School, Grade 2

Yiyang Z, Muraco Elementary School, Grade 5

Cameron A, Studio on the Common, Age 10

Cici B, Studio on the Common, Age 8

Josephine N, Studio on the Common, Age 8

Kelise J, Studio on the Common, Age 11

Harry Z, Winchester School of Chinese Culture, Grade 9

We are so thankful to the Winchester Foundation for Educational Excellence (WFEE) for sponsoring the Winchester Public School student tiles.

2nd Annual Gingerbread House Decorating Contest

12/1/2023

Folks got creative decorating houses for the second year in a row.

Riverwalk Opening and Tour

10/15/2023

On October 15, we were delighted to have a group of residents joining us for a tour and Opening reception for the Riverwalk exhibit. Sculptors David Adilman and Chris Plaisted were on hand to share stories of their works - Moonstruck and Wind in the Waves, respectively.

Photo credit: Cynthia Randall

Summer Beer Garden featuring local band Sonic Honey

7/30/2023

After two rescheduled dates, the Winchester Chamber of Commerce and the Cultural District were rewarded with a beautiful day for our first beer garden of the season. Local band, Sonic Honey, performed while people congregated and kids played games on the Griffin Terrace. This event was sponsored in part by the Winchester Cultural Council.