April 4 to May 31, 2025
Public Art: Commemorative Banners and Audio Tour
Arlington Center, outside along Mass Avenue

People, Plants & Revolution is the theme for a series of colorful banners and an audio tour commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in Arlington, MA. Organized by ArtsArlington, the banners portray the landscape elements and important plants that shaped life in 1775 in Menotomy, as the town was known at the time, a colonial farming village.  Learn more about these plants and how people lived, interwoven with revolutionary history, by listening to the audio tour – available anytime and anywhere at www.PlantStories.us.  The original silkscreen art used to make the banners is on view at 13FOREST Gallery (through May 23) and the Old Schwamb Mill (through May 31). See versions of the banners up close at Robbins Memorial Town Hall (through September 6) on the second floor.  All of the banners and text versions of the audio tour are available at https://artsarlington.org/plants-and-people/.

About the Artists
ArtsArlington's Public Art Curator Cecily Miller invited artists Suzanne Moseley and Liz Shepherd to design commemorative banners; they were assisted by Lily McDonald and Andrew Palladino.

Suzanne Moseley is an experimental artist, working in printmaking, cyanotype and sculptural formats. She often collaborates, recently with co-artist Liz Shepherd. Her work is in private collections, is often grant-funded and has been exhibited in the US and abroad. Her sculptures from repurposed materials, created with fellow artist Adrienne Shishko, have been featured in Fiber Art Now, The Boston Globe, and New Visionary Magazine. Her ability to work collaboratively garners its own attention, with invitations to discuss her experience, most recently at Berklee College of Music, Harvard Art Museum’s Maker Space and for an upcoming program on Newton Cable News.

Liz Shepherd produces large-scale sculptural installations, which bring to mind ideas about the earthly and the divine. She uses printmaking to enhance objects made of wood or paper. She also produces small, hand-pulled print editions. In the past 15 years she has exhibited in the United States and internationally. Shepherd’s work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Edinburgh College of Art, Syracuse University, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Hanoi (Vietnam) Contemporary Art Centre and the Bernard Zuckerman Museum of Art in Kennesaw, Georgia as well as numerous corporate and private collections. Originally from New York City, Shepherd now lives in Boston. She received her MFA in 2006 from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, which awarded her the prestigious Traveling Fellowship in 2015.

About the Audio Producer
Molly Edwards, Ph.D. produced the audio tour portion of this project. Dr. Edwards is a plant biologist turned science communicator who goes by Science IRL (‘in real life’) online. She is dedicated to telling stories that showcase the humanity and joy of being a scientist and foster a sense of belonging in STEM. In 2022 she received her Ph.D. from Harvard University, where she studied the wild and wonderful petals of columbine flowers. During graduate school she realized her science video hobby was quickly becoming a passion project that would shape her future career. Upon graduating she founded Science IRL Productions and now works with scientists and artists to bring STEM stories to life through digital media.

About ArtsArlington

The Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture – ArtsArlington for short – serves as the umbrella organization for all town-related arts and culture activities. Our mission is to cultivate a sustainable and supportive environment for the arts, enliven public space with accessible creative experiences to strengthen and enrich our community, create opportunities for artists, and invigorate the local economy. Our Public Art Curator, Cecily Miller, organized four projects to commemorate Arlington250 including these commemorative banners as well as work by Nilou Moochhala, Christopher Frost, Asia Kepka, and the fiber artists of Princeton Sankofa Stitchers Modern Quilting Guild. See https://artsarlington.org

Sunday, April 12-Monday, April 21

Arlington’s diverse cuisine, representing all corners of the world, will be on display during Arlington Restaurant Week. Running from Sunday, April 12 through Monday, April 21, Arlington Restaurant Week will encompass Patriots’ Day Weekend 2025 and will celebrate 250 years since the Battle of Menotomy which took place at the beginning of the American Revolution. Participating restaurants will feature culinary specials and entertainment.

Arlington offers a thriving arts scene, boutique galleries, independent theaters, diverse dining, public art, and access to the Minuteman Bikeway all within five square miles. This blend of history, natural beauty and vibrant arts makes Arlington a destination for foodies and history buffs alike, just in time to kick off the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution.

View the full list of participating restaurants at https://arlingtonrestaurantweek.com.

At 2 pm on Sunday, April 20th, the Town of Arlington will be joined by the Menotomy Minuteman and participants from many historical reenactment groups to reenact the Battle of Menotomy, presented by Leader Bank. Beginning at Mass Ave and Grove Street in Arlington, this ‘running’ battle will stretch nearly one mile of Mass Ave, ending at Mystic St. Street. Spectators will watch several significant battle engagements. Spectators are only allowed to watch on the northern side of Mass Ave. Funded, in part, by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism at https://massachusetts250.org.

About the Battle of Menotomy
The Battle of Menotomy was the longest and bloodiest engagement of April 19th, 1775. On that fateful day, Menotomy (now Arlington) was a crossroads village of about 400 farmers, millers, tavern keepers, and their families (“Menotomy” deriving from the Indigenous term for “flowing water;” our Mill Brook.) Here 79 companies of minutemen from 16 towns, 3800 militiamen in all, surrounded and engaged His Majesty’s troops on their retreat from Concord and Lexington. While adding to the grim statistics of the day (forty royal troops killed, and 25 colonials lost), the Battle of Menotomy was decisive proof (as John Adams would argue to the Continental Congress) that the Crown and its colonies were in a state of war.

See https://www.visitarlingtonma.org/event/battle-of-menotomy/ for detailed updates and video.

This event is part of Arlington250, a multiyear, townwide commemoration of the semiquincentennial of the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence. See https://arlington250.org

Hear ye, hear ye! Experience Paul Revere-inspired poems, Arlington’s revolutionary history, and Cyrus Dallin’s 57-year monument battle, brought to life by Arlington locals!

This free, family-friendly program will feature live readings of our two favorite Paul Revere themed poems – one by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the other by Cyrus Dallin himself. Learn about the Battle of Menotomy and imagine what it was like on that tumultuous day in 1775. Hear the fascinating story of Dallin’s battle to complete his famous monument to Paul Revere in Boston’s North End. Experience a beautiful small-scale cast of the statue in the east garden, and venture into the Museum to view a rare prototype.

Event schedule:
10-10:45 AM – Presentations in the Park (bring a chair and/or blanket)
10:45-12 PM – Museum open house

Following the program, head to Town Hall where Paul Revere and William Dawes arrive at noon! (Family activities and refreshments at that location begin at 11 AM.) Learn about Arlington 250 events and programs here.

On view April 5 - May 23, this 13Forest Gallery exhibition spotlights three major public art projects commisioned by ArtsArlington and planned by Public Art Curator Cecily Miller to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution and the critical role of Arlington (formerly the Village of Menotomy) on its very first day of fighting, on April 19, 1775.

Featured artists in the exhibition include Chris Frost and Asian Kepka, Nilou Moochhala, and Suzanne Moseley and Liz Shepherd.

Sat April 5, 4-6PM, Opening Reception

Sat April 26, 4-6PM, "Telling Stories," talk by curator Cecily Miller and the artists of Untold Stories

Sat May 10, 4-6PM, Show and Tell - a demonstration of natural dyeing techniques and sustainability practices in art and fashion with Asia Kepka.

Global Voices in Verse is a monthly poetry gathering that celebrates the richness of global poetic traditions. This event provides a platform for cultural exchange through poetry, inviting participants to read and share poems by poets from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Unlike traditional poetry readings, this initiative encourages both poets and non-poets to engage with poetry beyond their own experiences, fostering a deeper appreciation of different literary traditions. By bringing together voices from around the world, the event highlights the power of poetry as a bridge between cultures.

 Participants select a poem—whether from a well-known poet or a lesser-known voice—and present it in its original language, followed by a translation to make it accessible to a wider audience. This format not only promotes linguistic diversity but also allows attendees to explore the historical, social, and emotional contexts of various poetic works. By engaging with poetry in this way, Global Voices in Verse cultivates a welcoming space where literature becomes a shared experience, inspiring cross-cultural understanding and appreciation.

Enjoy this special conversation with Boston-based artist Sage Carbone who will discuss her Indigenous beadwork reimagining of Cyrus Dallin’s Paul Revere monument. The beadwork, which will be available for viewing during this program, was commissioned by the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum for display in the Euro-American Figures Gallery with the support of a grant from the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture. Carbone will share how her art relates to her efforts to elevate the histories and perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Greater Boston today through such work as the Indigenous Languages Visibility Project in Cambridge and annual Red Sox Native American Celebration.

Sage Carbone is a member of the Northern Narragansett Tribe and has Nipmuc and Mi'kmaq ancestry. This program is offered in conjunction with Freedom’s Way Hidden Treasures program and Arlington 250. Carbone views the semi quincentennial as an opportunity to envision what the next 250 years could look like when we engage with history in ways that uplift everyone.

This event is hosted and co-sponsored by the Arlington Historical Society. Additional co-sponsors include the Old Schwamb Mill and First Parish Unitarian Universalist Arlington Indigenous Justice Working Group.

This program is funded in part by grants from Freedoms Way National Heritage area and the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

To mark 45 years, Cantilena Women's Chorus premieres a newly commissioned work celebrating motherhood in its various forms. Cantilena welcomes the Boston community to attend this special concert on Mother’s Day Weekend for which New England composers Patricia van Ness, Lingbo Ma, and Laura Nevitt, have each written a movement expressing their own interpretation of motherhood, from a personal perspective. This musical exploration of maternal figures includes a variety of tender, amusing, and celebratory tributes to grandmothers, mothers, and their children by acclaimed artists Bobby McFerrin, Ysaye Barnwell, Gwyneth Walker, Holly Near, Byunghee Oh, Roger Bourland, Joan Szymko, and Diana Lawrence.

Audience members are invited to participate in a Q&A with the composers as part of the event. Meet the composers at the reception following the concert.

The concert program booklet will be posted online in May at https://www.cantilena.org/concerts.

In keeping with the two-year celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle between the British and Americans in Lexington and Concord, the Concord Chorus will present its spring concert on Saturday May 10, 2025. Featured will be Ernest Bloch's beautiful Sacred Service (sung in Hebrew) and works of Randall Thompson, with David Kravitz, baritone, and John Sullivan, piano. We are pleased and honored to be a part of the official Concord250 event series.

Live Arts Arlington’s Gas Station dance party returns with the Zydeco infused Squeeze Box Stompers to cap off Arlington Center for the Arts’ Porchfest, a townwide musical celebration. Free and family friendly!

Get your motor running at “GARAGE BAND” – the Arlington Porchfest “after party” featuring The Squeeze Box Stompers playing zydeco, Cajun and more that is sure to get you up and dancing!

Free and family friendly! 

Saturday, June 21st from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Arlington Service Station, 334 Mass Ave (next to Walgreens just past Arlington Center) (Rain date is Sunday June 22nd)

The venue has easy access by walking, bike or the 77 MBTA bus.

Be sure to visit our stores and restaurants in Arlington while enjoying a day-long, townwide celebration of music during Arlington Porchfest, sponsored by Arlington Center for Arts.  Our local businesses are there along your way to get in some more music right along Mass Ave.

Visit ArtsArlington.org for more!

“GARAGE BAND” is a Signature Event of The Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture