Free Concerts at South Street Community Arts Day

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The New England Foundation for the Arts announces South Street Community Arts Day featuring live jazz concerts by the Makanda Project, as well as live painting by Massachusetts College of Art & Design’s Sparc! ArtMobile, drum circles, activities for children, food, and more.

The event takes place Saturday, August 6, from 1-5pm at the South Street Housing Development located at 125 South Street in Jamaica Plain, MA. The event is family-friendly, free, and open to the public. The two concerts by the Makanda Project are scheduled for 1:30 and 3:30pm.

“We have been building relationships,” says John Kordalewski, band-leader of the Makanda Project, “in public housing developments. From an event we did previously at Bromley Heath, we met the folks at South Street, who have been key in developing this event. Further,” Kordalewski explains, “the MassArt Sparc! ArtMobile team will lead a live-painting mural on one of the South Street buildings.”

About the Makanda Project

The Makanda Project is an ensemble dedicated to performing the previously unrecorded compositions of Makanda Ken McIntyre. The group is based in Boston, Massachusetts, (Makanda’s hometown) and was formed in 2005. Since then The Makanda Project has been giving regular free concerts in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood and also performing outside of Boston – sharing what they believe is something unique and special about Makanda’s music, and adding their own individual and collective voices to his compositions. Click here for more information.

About MassArt’s Sparc! ArtMobile (Creative City Community Partner)

Sparc! the ArtMobile is an initiative of the Center for Art and Community Partnerships at MassArt. Sparc! travels as an all-purpose mobile base for innovative and intergenerational art and design programs, projects and events. Sparc! works with organizations, schools, and businesses to utilize our shared human and capital resources. The process of creating Sparc! involved a multitude of voices, and continues to be a catalyst for conversations and relationship-building. Whether it is stationed regularly or roaming the neighborhood, Sparc!’s mobility, flexibility and visibility inspires community engagement. Sparc! the ArtMobile is a vibrant part of the vitalization of Mission Hill and Lower Roxbury through art and design. Click here for more information.