Mayor Walsh presents National Art Program Exhibition at City Hall

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture today announced that Boston’s first Exhibition of The National Arts Program is now on display in the City Hall galleries.

Founded in 1982, the National Arts Program encourages the creative talent of government employees to come forth and be recognized by the public. As part of this program, Boston City employees and immediate family members were invited to display their art at Boston City Hall.

“The National Arts Program Exhibition is a great way to showcase the creative and innovative workforce that exists in the City of Boston,” said Mayor Walsh. “I encourage everyone to visit the City Hall galleries this month and see the incredible artistic talent we have right here in City Hall.”

The exhibition is available through November 17, 2017 in spaces throughout City Hall, including the 3rd Floor Scollay Square Gallery, the 5th Floor Mayor’s Gallery, the 2nd Floor Mayor’s Neighborhood Gallery and the hallways of Boston City Hall.

There are currently over 200 works of art showcasing the talent of employees who work for the City of Boston including the Boston Fire Department, the Boston Police Department, Boston Public Schools and many other public agencies. On display are fiber arts, sculpture, paintings and photographs.

“This exhibit truly embraces the spirit of the Boston Creates cultural plan, recognizing that everyone has the desire to engage in creative expression.The NAP allows us to bring that to life, share it with the public, and showcase the incredible creative talents of our colleagues at the City of Boston,” said Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture.

A reception and awards ceremony was held Thursday at Boston City Hall. There were several categories of awards, including Adult Amateurs, Adult Intermediates, Adult Professionals, Teens 13-18, Youth 12 & Under, Art Education, and Best of Show. A total of $3,300 in cash prizes was awarded to participants.

The jurors for the National Arts Program® Awards included:

• Sarah Meyers Brent 

     The 2015 winner of the Fay Chandler Emerging Artist Award “Best in Show” at Boston City Hall, Brent more recently was featured as a 2016 Best of Boston artist by The Improper Bostonian magazine. Brent has exhibited works in numerous venues, including her recent exhibit, Seep, Spill, Grow, at The Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, which was featured in Artscope Magazine. She was the recipient of the 2015 Walter Feldman Fellowship, culminating in an exhibit at the Walter Feldman Gallery in Boston titled Primal Garden, which also received critical acclaim in Artscope Magazine and The Boston Globe.

• Myron Belfast

     This year’s winner of Fay Chandler Emerging Artist Award “Best in Show” at Boston City Hall, Dorchester resident Myron Belfast was born in Trinidad and grew up in Cambridge MA. Belfast is a self-taught artist, who learned by watching the movements and techniques of other artists. Working primarily in charcoal, his work can be described as contemporary art-deco. Belfast will be having a solo exhibition in the 5th floor Mayor’s Gallery at City Hall January 23 - February 28, 2018.

• Jeremy Hetherington

     The 2015 winner of the “New to Making Art” Emerging Artist Award at Boston City Hall, Hetherington is a Boston-based industrial designer and artist, who earned his BFA at Massachusetts College of Art in 2010. A signature of his work is cut pieces of paper that are organized into imagery that are part of the artist’s process of mindfulness. 

The jurors awarded the Best of Show prize to Marc Vaillancourt of Tewksbury, a Compositor for the Boston Police Department. Other award winners included: 

• James Tran

     A Dorchester resident and Library Assistant at the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library, Tran won first place in the Adult Amateur category. 

• Susan Cascino

     A Jamaica Plain resident and Recycling Director for the City of Boston, Cascino won first place in the Adult Intermediate category. 

• Alisa Rodny

     A Watertown resident and Boston Public Schools visual arts teacher, Rodny won first place in the Adult Professional category. 

• Justin Tran

     A Dorchester resident, Tran won first place in the Youth 12 & Under category. 

• Julian Martinez -Garcia

    An East Boston resident, Martinez-Garcia won first place in the Youth Teen category.