Postcards from Allston installs first exhibit
Postcards from Allston now installed as a public art exhibit at 122 Brighton Ave. in Allston.
Allston, MA -- Allston Village Main Streets and local documentary photographer Edward Boches today announced the launch of Postcards from Allston, a new website, postcard collection and public art exhibit installed at 122 Brighton Avenue in Allston.
The exhibit and collection capture Allston’s changing landscape and the people who define and shape it.
The project, conceived and photographed by Boches, combines three components: colorful and vibrant images of Allston’s many murals, street scenes and architecture, telling a story of a changing neighborhood; portraits of small business owners, artists, musicians and community activists -- the people who care about and shape this corner of Boston; and imaginary postcards written by the likes of Picasso, Prince, Tupac, even Michelle Obama.
“Allston is full of color, creativity, character and most importantly authenticity. It’s a neighborhood that welcomes immigrants, students, artists and musicians. It boasts some of the best ethnic restaurants in Boston. And while it may not be part of the Freedom Trail, or host to any Duck Boat tours, it’s most certainly worthy of attention,” explains Allston Village Main Streets Director Alex Cornacchini.
The project was intended to be public and accessible from the start. “I wanted to create photographs that anyone could access, own and share,” explained Boches, who has been documenting Allston for the last year and a half. “Galleries are great, but they don’t always reach as wide an audience as public art.”
In addition to the online gallery and installation, Postcards from Allston are available for purchase in small packages of postcards and as frameable prints at Allston’s Artful Edge Framing with all proceeds donated to the local arts community. In upcoming weeks, a sidewalk opening will be announced via social media.
“This is a project that aligns perfectly with Allston Village Main Street’s mission,” says Cornacchini. “We’re charged with fostering an environment that supports the local commercial district and works to keep it healthy. By presenting Allston in an all of its color and by recognizing the people who make it a place worth living, working and visiting, Postcards from Allston can inspire both the business and creative community.”
Allston Village Main Streets and Boches plan to expand the project as well. “While we’ve launched the website and now the exhibit, this is an ongoing project,” says Boches. “We still have dozens of people we want to photograph, stories we’d like to tell about local business owners and local leaders, and ways in which we want to involve even more of the community.”
That last word -- community -- is a big part of the idea behind Postcards. “There are so many examples of people doing things for each other here -- in housing, worker rights, support of the arts, education -- it’s important for the entire community to know who those people are and to be inspired by them,” says Cornacchini. “That’s our ultimate goal. To foster that community.”
“Photography can do that,” says Boches. “Our observations of the world and each other can inform us, inspire us, and even help us understand ourselves. We may be starting with landscapes, portraits and postcards. But Postcards from Allston has the ambition to be more than a card with a stamp. It’s hoping to leave a real mark on this wonderful neighborhood.”
Edward Boches is a Boston-based documentary photographer who explores how people live, work, play and struggle. Recent exhibits have shown at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester and Panopticon Gallery in Boston.
Allston Village Main Streets is part of the City of Boston’s Boston Main Streets, one of 20 non-profit Main Streets organizations that work to maintain and build healthy commercial districts.
The installation site and windows were provided courtesy of The Hamilton Companies.
Printing was done by Digital Silver Imaging of Belmont.
