Amelia Mason

1 week ago | wbur.org | Amelia Mason

“You're going to get a WBUR exclusive back room tour here.”Mark Henderson squeezed through a dusty passageway at the back of the gallery that he manages in Gloucester. The corridor opened into a dark store room filled to the brim with art: rolled up canvases, a bin of works on cardboard, and stacks upon stacks of drawings. Henderson estimated there were around 20,000 pieces, each a strange, distinctive missive from the mind of the late artist Jon Sarkin.

1 week ago | wbur.org | Amelia Mason

Editor's Note: This story is an excerpt from WBUR's weekly arts and culture newsletter, The ARTery. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. On Friday, WBUR will publish my story about efforts to preserve the legacy of the late Jon Sarkin. The artist died at his Gloucester studio last summer at the age of 71. When he was 35, he suffered a stroke during surgery to repair tinnitus; doctors ended up removing part of the left side of his brain.

2 weeks ago | wbur.org | Amelia Mason |Victoria Wasylak |Noah Schaffer |Solon Kelleher |Lukas Harnisch

Clockwise from top left: The cover art for Ali McGuirk's "Where Does All The $ Come From?" (Courtesy); cover art for Daniel Voltaire and HAAWWS' "Stuck in My Ways Remix" (Courtesy Mellow Z Vier); cover art for Bowling Shoes' "FACTORY POP" (Courtesy of Jeremiah Bermel, Jake Lutter and Dimitri Christo); and cover art for Flying Vipers' "Off World" (courtesy). Maybe it’s the bright green foliage outside my window, but this month’s music roundup feels especially fresh.

1 month ago | wbur.org | Amelia Mason

Editor's Note: This story is an excerpt from WBUR's weekly arts and culture newsletter, The ARTery. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. Back in 2021, WBUR's arts desk published an article by Jenn Stanley titled "In Somerville, affordable studio space for artists is rapidly disappearing." Key to the story was the plight of artists working out of studios at 57 Central St. in Somerville.

1 month ago | wbur.org | Deborah Becker |Amy Gorel |Amelia Mason

Following three days of "show cause" hearings this month, charges were brought against more than 30 men who allegedly bought sex from a high-end brothel ring operating in Greater Boston. Although federal prosecutors said in 2023 the ring catered to clients that included  elected officials, military officers and government contractors with security clearances, Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner is the most public among the clients to face charges.