Boston bursts with creative talent. Artists of all kinds call the city home — painters, musicians, poets, dancers and more.
We are excited to introduce you to this year’s class of The Makers, 10 artists of color whose careers are on the rise and whose work you should know. Delving into 291 nominations from readers and listeners, we chose the artists who are interrogating the past, reframing the present day and imagining a better future.
Join us as we take you into their studios, performance spaces and the neighborhoods where they make their art. You’ll also learn about their personal stories, and what drives them to create: how a child growing up in China with a love of country music came to found a transcultural theater group in Boston, or how an artist whose work as a court interpreter inspired his artistic examination of who in our society is heard. One painter uses her murals to offer residents of color a sense of belonging, while at the same time creating a brighter, idealized world. Like the other Makers, she is breathing life into Boston and challenging the status quo.
“I feel the need to set the tone for my generation,” says Danny Rivera, one of WBUR’s 2023 Makers, and a deeply talented musician who performs everything from soul to pop. He also revives spirituals sung by enslaved Black people and connects them to contemporary struggles.
Art holds infinite possibilities when diverse voices are embraced and celebrated. Read on for profiles of The Makers, to see photos of their work and to hear from them in their own words.
----
Alison Croney Moses
As a woodworker and artist, Alison Croney Moses has distinguished her style of curved wood veneer sculptures over the last several years, shaping wood almost as if it were clay. "I used to see fault in my making when there were imperfections," she said. "Now, I'm starting to embrace that ... there is no perfect, and part of the human hand is the imperfections."
Read more: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/10/15/the-makers-alison-croney-moses
