Northshore Magazine

Northshore April 2019

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 32 APRIL 2019 murals within a three-block radius. A third of the murals that make up the Punto Urban Art Museum are created by local artists and change each year, while the rest, spotted atop brick buildings or glimpsed between hanging laundry and through alleyways, are the recent work of world-renowned artists. "e fact that the Point is included in the concept of Salem as a destination is a revela- tion, and it's wonderful because it's a step toward inclusivity," says Northcutt. In Septem- ber, during Hispanic Heritage Month, the murals are celebrated in a neighborhood block party, with people of all ages, cultural back- grounds, and walks of life coming together. For architecture lovers who find themselves swooning over the captains' mansions on Chestnut Street, the Point now offers the same official plaques, which tell the stories of those who resided in the brick buildings of the once French Canadian, now mostly Dominican, neighborhood. e plaques are a partnership between the NSCDC, Essex National Heritage Commission, and Historic Salem, Inc. For the designation, the NSCDC renovated 19 buildings to National Historic Landmark District standards. Including translations in French and Spanish helps these small plaques tell the larger stories of the immigrants who lived there and the work they did to build Salem. "Salem's identity is tied to our history," says Northcutt. "It always surprised me that this neighborhood wasn't part of that story. It's such an asset to the community, and it's really cool to see people celebrating it." A collaboration with PEM this past fall resulted in kids from the Point helping a guest artist transform an athletic space into a visually exciting one. Kids ages 5 to 14 brain- stormed about how to turn an urban basket- ball court into a work of art, and then picked up paint brushes with Maria Molteni, founder of New Craft Artists in Action, to create Tormenta en la Cancha, or Storming the Court, which features lightning bolts, raindrops, and the phases of the moon. is spring the NSCDC is putting on a weeklong public art festival. Kicking off in their whimsically renovated loft on Lafayette Street, the festival includes a community picnic and a series of events celebrating the history of the Point. An art installation called IM|MIGRATION runs from May 11 to 19, when visitors to the Punto Urban Art Museum will engage with stories of immigration and migration through light, sound, photography, and performance, produced by the public art collective Harbor Voices. One hundred stories of local immi- grants are being collected during popular English classes that look like a gathering of the UN, says Northcutt, with people participating from all over the world. On Friday nights, you can head to the Point to learn salsa. Dance teacher Greg Coles hosts these classes right in his Lafayette Street loft. Coles is an encyclopedia of dance styles. Salsa moves are mainly West African combined with Native American and Spanish influences, but he also teaches Malian, Senegalese, Guinean, Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, Angolan, and Caribbean dance styles. Once part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance eater School, Coles has taught at Tufts and Salem State universities and puts on workshops for Salem public schools. At least five marriages and more engagements have come from his FAC E S + P L AC E S PHOTOGRAPHS BY JARED CHARNEY (TOP LEFT AND RIGHT), COURTESY OF NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION Above, Super Dali by Sipros. About 75 murals can be found in a three- block radius. Left, Tormenta en la Cancha kids from the Point helping a guest artist transform an athletic space with Maria Molteni Far left, Mickey Northcutt is the CEO of the North Shore Community Development Cooperation.

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