Karsen Andrews is an interesting young man, and PSNA is proud to encourage an active use for this challenging little space in Porter Square. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Shozawa, Katherine <kshozawa@lesley.edu mailto:kshozawa@lesley.edu > Date: Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 4:14 PM Subject: Re: LESLEY: Mini Meets x MBTA courtyard on April 2 -- confirmed Here’s a description of the project to take place between 1-3pm on Saturday, April 2nd (rain date: April 3rd) … [A picture containing text, building, outdoor, ground Description automatically generated] Mini Meets at Porter Square Whose histories are visible in the Porter Square neighborhood? How can we uncover histories that remain unseen in public spaces? Artist Karsen Andrews asks these questions in an effort to understand public social history and the function of public space, beginning with the site of the Porter Square MBTA Station. In his role as a SEAD Education Fellow in the Office of Community Engagement at Lesley University’s College of Art and Design (Lesley Art + Design), Andrews has developed a pop-up performance and community exchange project called Mini Meets. At its core, Mini Meets is about conversations with residents, students, commuters, and anyone passing through Porter Square Station and other public spaces along Mass Ave. The interactive pop-up performance is scheduled to take place: Saturday, April 2, 2022 from 1 to 3 p.m. Porter Square MBTA Station’s Outdoor Courtyard adjacent to the Commonwealth Lock Co. at 1853 Massachusetts Avenue (Rain date: April 3, from 1 to 3 p.m.) All are welcome! Stop by to engage with Mini Meets, have a cup of coffee, and learn about other programs from the Lesley Art + Design’s Office of Community Engagement. IG: @lesley_oce https://lesley.edu/academics/college-of-art-design/community-engagement https://lesley.edu/academics/college-of-art-design/community-engagement Mini Meets uses comedy, history, social engagement, and performance to gather and highlight contemporary social history about the neighborhood of Porter Square and stories from those who utilize the Porter Square area. The project begins with the history of the Porter family and their cattle business, which helped define the development of Porter Square into its present day function as a transportation hub Miniature ceramic sculptures, made by the artist, of grocery-store-packaged porterhouse steaks alter history to fit in the palm of your hand. These “mini meats” serve as bartering tokens for participants in exchange for stories and conversation. Karsen Andrews’ Mini Meets is proudly presented by Lesley Art + Design’s Office of Community Engagement – a socially engaged art and design initiative that connects the College and the Lunder Arts Center to communities in Cambridge, Somerville, and Greater Boston – in partnership with History Cambridge and the Porter Square Neighbors Association. Mini Meets and Lesley Art + Design’s Office of Community Engagement recognize and honor the unceded ancestral lands of the Massachuset Tribes and their neighbors the Nipmuc and Wampanoag Peoples’ upon which Porter Square, Cambridge and Lesley University stand. — Katherine Shozawa, MFA Director of Community Engagement Lesley Art + Design lesley.edu/academics/college-of-art-design/community-engagement https://lesley.edu/academics/college-of-art-design/community-engagement @lesley_oce https://www.instagram.com/lesley_oce/ Pronouns: she/her/hers [signature_642089431] The Office of Community Engagement is a socially engaged art and design initiative that connects Lesley Art + Design and the Lunder Arts Center to communities in Cambridge, Somerville, and Greater Boston with a focus on racial equity, public art, and social innovation.
