5 Things To Do This Weekend, Including Celebrating The ARTery 25 And A Film Festival

This week, we on WBUR’s arts and culture team have been celebrating the latest members of The ARTery 25, our series highlighting artists of color making an impact in the community. We’re not just keeping this celebration to ourselves — we want you to join us for a livestreamed event with performances from some of the cohort, including hip-hop artist Red Shaydez. (Give her album “Feel the Aura” a listen to get a taste of what she’ll bring to the stage.) The rest of our weekend event picks are also full of artistic expression, from the Boston Latino International Film Festival, to a participatory sculpture on the Boston Common, to a dance festival.

Join us for a livestreamed virtual celebration of The ARTery 25, 25 artists of color making an impact in the community. This year’s cohort included artists who express themselves through music, photography, fabric, food, words, and more. They’re an inspiring bunch and we can’t wait to honor them. This free event will feature performances by Boston Ballet dancer Lawrence Rines, poet and artivist Amanda Shea, hip-hop artist Red Shaydez (as we noted above), singer Haydee Irizarry and DJ WhySham. You won’t want to miss it. Be sure to register here.

A play on words, this public sculpture installation by artist Janet Zweig will be on view on the Boston Common near the Parkman Bandstand. The piece is a handcrafted, double-sided cabinet that has drawers filled with markers. The aim is to inspire conversation about commonalities and public ownership. The installation will also be illuminated during the nighttime. Throughout the month, there will also be guides that will be walking around, encouraging visitors to participate in conversations inspired by the markers that ask, “Who owns the grass?” r “Who owns the Boston Harbor?” There will also be a Giving Library in hopes of getting visitors to think deeper about shared resources.

“Layered Time” is a group of thematically intertwined solo exhibitions on view at SPOKE Gallery in South Boston. “Scrolls of Justice” is the fourth and final exhibition in the series featuring the work of Boston-based artist Shea Justice. In this exhibit, Justice presents several of his scrolls, which are hundreds of feet long, and incorporate the use of traditional Asian storytelling techniques, Chinese ink and his own handwriting. The scrolls are Justice’s response to war, politics, pop culture and racial justice. There will also be part of Justice’s past framed works on view from his series “We The People.” There will be a reception and gallery talk with Justice on Wednesday, Sept. 29.

The Boston Latino International Film Festival aims to tackle stereotypes through the power of film. The film I’m most excited for in the lineup is “Dreams of Chonta,” a film about an Afro-Colombian musician who moves to the U.S. and leaves his family behind at 16 years old. Another notable one is the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For it,” which explores the struggles the actress had on her way to fame. This year’s festival is virtual, so get cozy on the couch and stream some great films.

For the 12th annual Dance For World Community Festival, the festival and dance party are celebrating “re-emergence.” Dance for World Community is a partnership-based project from José Mateo Ballet Theatre that amplifies the power of dance to unify and strengthen the community. The festival will run from 12 p.m.-6 p.m. and the dance party will follow from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. The festival will feature performances from all different dance forms, and introductory level dance classes for attendees to participate in. Local nonprofit organizations and vendors will also be there throughout the day.