Posted April 21, 2005

     Boston has always been known as a city of culture.  This is due in part to our world-renowned institutions, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Public Library, and the Boston Ballet.  It is also due to the large number of top quality centers of study and higher learning in Boston.

     However, without taking a thing away from these institutions, it is also true that recent decades have not seen much that is culturally new.  There are a certain few exceptions, of course, but it is only since 2000 that new life has been injected into Boston’s cultural scene.

     The city’s media have noticed this.  For example, the Sunday Globe (April 10) published a front page article on the City’s “Renaissance”.  In this South Boston Online editorial, we want to highlight our own neighborhood “Renaissance”.

     One of the most prominent features on the South Boston Waterfront will be the new Institute of Contemporary Arts (the ICA).  It is a truly striking example of modern architecture, which Mayor Menino has called “a beacon for anyone who enters the harbor”.  It is expected to open within 18 months.

     The Artists for Humanity have completed and now occupy their building on A and Second Streets.  They call it “The EpiCenter”.  They mentor young people in middle school or high school in the arts.  Curious about your own budding talents?  You now can get an answer – stop in at The EpiCenter on Wednesday, April 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.  Just drop by – it’s part of the Renaissance in South Boston.

     The Opera House opened in Downtown Crossing last June.  Its rescue and superb renovations were shepherded by South Boston’s own Jim Lydon and Clear Channel over in Fort Point. 

     And speaking of Fort Point, with 300+ working artists, it is New England’s largest art colony – bigger than Marblehead/Rockport or Provincetown.

    The Pavilion looks as if it is here to stay, a good use for an otherwise empty Wharf Eight.  The quality concerts there, coupled with performances in the parks of South Boston, make our neighborhood an enjoyable place to come for performing arts.

     South Boston is one of the hottest places in the U.S. to shoot a film.  Local authors write best-sellers.  We even have a monthly “Poetry Slam” at The Farragut House on the first Monday of each month (7:30 p.m.).

     The South Boston Literary Gazette is in its fifth year of continuous publication, and is preparing its 15th  issue right now.  It has published hundreds of short stories and poems by South Bostonians of all ages.  Local artwork and photography have been featured in every issue.

     The South Boston Arts Association is close to three years old.  Its members include prominent local artists, many of whom are award winners, as well as those who are not artists themselves, but who want to support South Boston’s cultural scene.  The Arts Association has even become an integral part of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

     Now, South Boston is a working community.  If you live here, you work – often at more than one job.  Southie is also known for its intense interest in athletics, especially among its youth.  It is a “city of heroes”, both civilian and military. And it has an abiding interest in politics.  These are some wonderful features of our community.

     It is a pleasure to recognize another characteristic of South Boston – a fast-growing cultural scene.