In the Gallery

In this compelling series of paintings, Donald Langosy celebrates and explores the time-honored connection between visual artists and poets. This is the second exhibit of Donald Langosy’s paintings to appear in the Art Center’s gallery, following a retrospective, Excerpts From My Studio, in 2021.

Art/Poetica not only celebrates the link between poet and painter, but also pays homage to everyone who rises up in the face of adversity. In the early 90s, Langosy began to show signs of a rare form of multiple sclerosis that ended his ability to actively promote his work. In addition to causing debilitating fatigue, MS stole his mobility and many of his everyday capabilities. Although no longer able to visit museums and galleries, mount shows, or travel to meet with art dealers and curators, Langosy never gave up on his art. Now a wheelchair user with limited mobility in all but his left hand, he still spends each day painting in his home studio.

We are now accepting proposals for gallery exhibitions. Work needs to be wall mountable fine art that relates to our mission of supporting multicultural arts that help to educate the community about diversity. We also strive to support artists and groups who may not otherwise have access to a professionally equipped and accessible facility or the cultural mainstream. 

BIPOC artists are strongly encouraged to apply.

Past Exhibits

Chilean-American poet, novelist, essayist and human rights activist Marjorie Agosín, pays homage to her great grandmother, Helena Broder, who escaped Austria shortly after the Night of the Broken Glass in 1938, in a compelling series of poems paired with photographs by Chilean photographer Samuel Shats, in a journey across time and space and across thresholds between life, death and dreams to discover Helena's lost voice.

“We are not women; we are gods.” is a group show featuring 2D and 3D artwork inspired by the lyrics of American singer and songwriter Halsey. With the work of over forty exceptional female artists on display, this exhibition explores concepts of gender and identity and what it means to be a female artist in the 21st century.

Awareness is at the core of this series of 15 paintings by neuro-art researcher Neetu Singhal. “Only LOVE is Real” is based on the idea of letting the non-verbal language of the paintings make individuals' minds peaceful, joyful, and activated in inner dialogue until transcendental transformation. This exhibition explores the potentially positive synesthetic and transcendent effects that spiritual practices in combination with the effects of color may have on individuals on the Autism Spectrum, with Down Syndrome, or with ADHD.

The Multicultural Arts Center welcomes back the talented students of the Cambridge Public Schools in their Young Artists Exhibition. The current exhibit includes artworks of different mediums from grades JK-12. A true show of creativity and imagination from Cambridge Public School students.

Black & Jewish is a series of painted and drawn black and white portraits by TJ Reynolds that amplify the intersectional identities of Jews of Color. This project began when TJ was working on a light themed installation at the Freedom House in Dorchester. In this installation he bridged the Jewish community he was representing with the majority Black community that the Freedom House served. With help, he convened a group of Black and Jewish teens to participate in a workshop and planning session, deciding who TJ should portray in the upcoming installation. The workshop participants provided inspiring input. They shared their experiences existing in the world as both Black and Jewish, commenting that they never had the opportunity to express these feelings before. Feelings of both belonging and ostracization poured out, and the students found community in their sharing. Reynolds identified with them as a multi-ethnic person, and shared about his process to embrace and feel embraced in all the communities of his family history.

Liang Guo is a Chinese-American realist painter who immigrated from China to the U.S. in 1995. Upon settling in the Boston area, Guo developed a love for the city which became the inspiration and strength behind his current series: Portraits of Boston. Through this series, Guo wants to give his audience the opportunity to see Boston from the point of view of an artist who lives and works in the city, but is from a different culture.     

Guo has been the recipient of many prestigious awards including the 2022 Mass Cultural Council Fellowship. Guo’s work has been shown and collected throughout the world.

A Place Where I Belong is an exhibition that pulls together a community around the theme of belonging. This exhibition is in honor of Iyoko Mitsuda Laffin, a friend and colleague of many of the artists featured. The exhibition brings her work together with other works by artists, providing these artists a place to feel secure and safe to share their work with each other.

Bitson Jean, curator, explains "These artists gave me the license to create this show, A Place Where I Belong. My first exhibition as a curator, I sought artists whose work conveyed this sense of community and home in their art. Please enjoy this talented group of artists and share in this opportunity to honor Iyoko through this exhibition."

Award-winning documentary photographer and human rights activist, Jonathan Moller, has photographed Cuban youth for more than 25 years. This current series of over 40 images depticts Havana's streets and Holguín's sugarcane fields of Mayabeque, Gay Pride, May Day marches, hospitals, homes, and more.

The Multicultural Arts Center welcomed back the talented students of the Cambridge Public Schools in their Young Artists Exhibition. The exhibition included artworks of different mediums from grades K - 12. A true show of creativity and imagination from Cambridge Public School students.

Gospel in Motion - The Harlem Gospel Choir
Photographs by Bill Chapman

December 20, 2021 - February 4, 2022

Cambridge-based photographer Bill Chapman has been taking pictures for over fifty years. Recurrent themes in his work have included baseball, music, and the exploration of American culture. Since his childhood, Chapman has been drawn to gospel music. When the Multicultural Arts Center began presenting the gospel concert Joyful Noise in 2000, he became a regular attendee. In 2014, after attending, and photographing, the Harlem Gospel Choirs Joyful Noise concert at Harvard’s Sanders Theater, Chapman was asked to be the choir’s official photographer. He has since photographed twenty-five of their performances.

Gospel in Motion is a series of 25 photographs of the Harlem Gospel Choir. Synonymous with power vocals, glorious sound, and infectious energy, Chapman’s images give us an intimate portrait of the thriving, cultural powerhouse that the choir is.  

Bill Chapman Artist Talk

Join us for a live talk with Chapman in which we discuss his life as a photographer including his pilgrimage through the U.S. photographing baseball, his mentorship with Ernest C. Withers, and his current partnership with the Harlem Gospel Choir.

Donald Langosy’s story is one of the power of the creative spirit and the determination to continue on a chosen path despite the limitations of his disability. In the 1970s and 80s, Langosy was a prominent artist whose work was exhibited in Boston and New York. His paintings and drawings could be found in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum, as well as private collections throughout the United States and Europe. 

In the early 90s, he began to show signs of a rare form of multiple sclerosis that ended his ability to actively promote his work. In addition to causing debilitating fatigue, MS stole his mobility and many of his everyday capabilities. Although no longer able to visit museums and galleries, mount shows, or travel to meet with art dealers and curators, Langosy never gave up on his art. Now a wheelchair user with limited mobility in all but his left hand, he still spends each day painting in his home studio. 

Over the decades, Langosy has experimented with numerous techniques, including creating sculptural images out of the canvas and layering different images to give a sensation of time passing. Both these techniques are displayed in the exhibit. Various characters and legendary themes reappear through the years, forming a
personal mythology that is often depicted in exquisite detail. His precise brushwork and realistic images are all the more remarkable in the face of his declining mobility. Excerpts From My Studio not only celebrates the work of Langosy, who has dedicated his life to painting, but also pays homage to everyone who rises up in the face of adversity.

Mesha Noor
The Jharoka Collection

Image: Orange Jharoka

In the Jharoka Collection, Mesha Noor manifests the rich, deeply rooted culture of Pakistan and the Mughal era. She uses the Jharokas (a traditional desi balcony) to reveal varying styles of the area. The intricate patterns of today go hand in hand with the delicate wood engravings of old to portray the past, present, and future.

Krik? Krak!: A call and response in some Haitian villages between a storyteller and their audience.

Image: lions, tigers, and rabbits by Linda Sok

with:
Photography by Lindsey Rothrock

Based in Madison, WI, Lindsey Rothrock is a photographer who uses the human body and projected imagery to explore companionship and how the ways we perceive each other and the world around us shape both our outward interactions and our self-definition. Her current show at the Multicultural Arts Center, with:, explores gender and place through two series: Femininity | Masculinity and ¿Te Ubicas?.

Moved to Act!

Co-Curated by Ellen Feldman & Marky Kauffmann

If you missed the Lunchtime Curator's Talk with co-curators Ellen Feldman & Marky Kauffmann, please click below for the full recording.

How Do We Relate to the Climate Crisis?
Artwork by Jeffrey Nowlin, Adriana G. Prat, Michelle Lougee,
Maria Celeste Linardi, and Cedric Harper

How Do We Relate to the Climate Crisis?
Community Panel Discussion

How Do We Relate to the Climate Crisis?, features artwork by Jeffrey Nowlin, Adriana G. Prat, Michelle Lougee, Maria Celeste Linardi, and Cedric Harper. To accompany the exhibit, the artists envisioned and commissioned a Panel of Climate Crisis Experts and Advocates.

Blood and Ink
Photographs by Sylvia Stagg-Giuliano

Historias de Tierra y Mar/Stories of Land and Sea
Photographs by Claudia Ruiz Gustafson

Cambridge Public Schools K-8 Spring Young Artists Exhibit

What people are saying about the CPS Virtual Gallery:

“Love it! It felt like being there in person. Thank you for helping to share some of the amazing artwork our students are producing.”

“I am a CPS Art Teacher and want to say THANK YOU so much for making the art show live. It was great to share some good news with the artists and their families and have the event continue when everything else is canceled. I love how the display simulates the gallery experience with wide views and close ups. Well done!”

“This is a beautiful presentation. I am in awe of the talent of the students and kudos to the teachers in their interesting proposals for inspiration and medium.”

“Loved it!”

“Great Job creating this.”

“Honestly, I was pretty blown away. This collection changed my assumptions of 'student art' (and I've been to lots of student art shows). All props to the students and their teachers!”

“Really love that you are finding ways to showcase your exhibitions online - especially as a way to engage students who are out of school right now. Thank you!”

“This is a fantastic resource, especially during the Covid crisis. It’s a great way to provide access to wonderful artwork. Thank you!”

“I love it!! Really brings out the art, and the navigation features were cool. Bravo! A good substitute for a live show in these times.”