After 87 years, a Boston performing arts organization takes a new name

Celebrity Series of Boston is now Vivo Performing Arts.

The 87-year-old organization announced last week that it was rebranding to “align the organization’s public identity with its mission and vision to enrich, connect, and inspire our community.”

Vivo Performing Arts worked with a local agency to develop an identity that would highlight the organization’s history and its plans for the future. “Vivo” is derived from “vivere,” the Latin root for “to live.” The hand-painted logo features typography that is intended to feel approachable and visually relatable.

“We recognized that our name needed to fully express our values of joy, equity, integrity, curiosity, and collaboration,” said president and executive director Gary Dunning. “It creates a welcoming environment where everyone from longtime audiences to first-time attendees can feel that this community is for them.”

Pianist Aaron Richmond founded Aaron Richmond’s Celebrity Series in 1938. Since then, the performing arts presenting organization has hosted internationally and nationally known artists, troupes and orchestras like the Trapp Family Singers and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Over the decades, the name of the organization has shifted. In 2007 it began operating under the name Celebrity Series of Boston. Despite the changes, the organization has always had the word "celebrity" in its name — until now.

The rebrand to Vivo Performing Artists is a big one. It places less of an emphasis on the “celebrity” in the work the organization does. While it does host well-known acts, Vivo Performing Arts offers a number of workshops and free community shows featuring Boston-based performers.

“This rebrand is not about changing who we are, but clarifying it,” Dunning said. “Whether on a stage or in a neighborhood park, live performance is what we do and the place where creativity comes alive.”

Currently, Vivo Performing Arts presents over 200 performances and hosts more than 150 community engagement activities throughout Greater Boston each year. The intention is to continue creating shared performing arts experiences that are accessible to community members.

“‘Celebrity Series’ served us well for decades,” said Dunning. “But ‘Vivo Performing Arts’ captures the living heart of what we do now and what we hope to do well into the future.”