Several exhibits coming to City Hall galleries in June

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture today announced several exhibits will be on display this month in the City Hall galleries. 

“The galleries at City Hall this month represent a wide array of artwork from a very diverse group of artists,” said Mayor Walsh. “I look forward to having this art enhance the building this summer, and I encourage residents and visitors to the City to come see the exhibits on display.”

This month’s shows include: 

• Patricia Thaxton Exhibit, on display in the 5th Floor Mayor’s Gallery, features the work of Boston-based visual artist and former Boston Public Schools teacher Patricia Thaxton. Specializing in mixed media collage, her work is a collection of ideas and images from sketchbooks dated from the 1970s to the present. This exhibit has been on display since May and will end on June 15.
• Animals in City Hall, an exhibit on display in the 3rd Floor Scollay Square Gallery, showcases the work of four artists who each use a different medium to portray their perceptions of the animal kingdom. This exhibit has been on display since May 15, and will end on June 15.
• Housing with Public Assets, an exhibit on display on the 3rd floor lobby steps of City Hall from June 7 - June 30, is a series of graphics that represents a Request for Information the City released to get community feedback on whether combining housing and public assets would work in Boston. 
• Ruderman Inclusion Mural, on display on the 5th floor balcony of City Hall through the month of June, is a collective art piece from the 2017 Ruderman Inclusion Summit, where 1,400 people came to the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston to talk about the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.
• “Alone Together” Images by Jerry Russo, on display in the 5th Floor Mayor’s Gallery from June 25 - July 30, is a collection of photographs by Jerry Russo that examines people while confined to the crowded spaces of the MBTA. Russo strives to capture people when their guard is down and the mask is off, showing a vulnerability in the faces of those weary from work after longs days and tiresome commutes.
• Isolation, on display in the 3rd Floor Scollay Square gallery from June 18 - July 20, is an exhibit by the three finalists in the City of Boston’s 2015 Emerging Artists Competition, Raquel Fornasaro, Rachel Tine, and Lauren Hayes.
• “Who We Are: Boston Immigration Then and Now,” on display on the 3rd floor lobby steps throughout the month of June, is an exhibit presented in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month. 
• Pics in the Park, on display on the 2nd floor of Boston City Hall from June 18 - July 18, is a series of photographs taken by photographers of different expertise levels at four iconic parks this spring during an event hosted by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Photographers explored Horatio Harris Park in Roxbury, Moakley Park in South Boston, Chandler Pond in Brighton, and Winthrop Square in East Boston. 
• Celebrating the Reopening of the Strand Theatre Gallery, featuring the artwork of Dorchester painter Chris Plunkett, is on display at the Strand Theatre in Upham’s Corner until August 4. His "Urban Landscape Series" is intended to make the viewer look closely at the beauty in blue-collar, Boston-based scenes. 

“It’s great to see so many local artists recognized by the City of Boston, and to bring increased visibility to their artwork in this way,” said Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture. “Continuously filling this building with art is one way that we are making city government more accessible, welcoming, and responsive to artists, and accomplishing the goals outlined in the Boston Creates cultural plan.”

Artists can apply to have their work shown in the City Hall galleries here. For more information on the City Hall galleries, visit here.