Local artists and Revere Art Community push Shirley Ave arts district and projection pop-ups

Members of the Revere Art Community and the Revere Public Arts Commission discussed ongoing and planned arts programming along Shirley Avenue, including projection-based displays, pop-up shows and a push for a designated arts and cultural district.

Brian, founder of the Revere Art Community, said the nonprofit has grown to about 240 members and has been building relationships with neighborhood groups, developers and businesses to pursue an official arts-district designation for Shirley Avenue. “That’s gonna be supported by the Revere Art Community, the neighborhood association, some developers, and we’re always looking for people to help and assist,” he said.

Brian described technical methods the group uses to display work in storefront windows and on glass: materials that can be installed on windows and projected from the interior so images are visible both inside and outside. He said the group plans a pop-up show at the end of March or beginning of April and proposed projecting historical Revere imagery on the Revere Historical Society’s windows.

New commission member Sarah, who works at the Boston Society for Architecture, offered help with grant writing and said she is recruiting local artists. “I have a little bit of support through work on that if that’s something we wanted to do,” she said.

The commission also described smaller, recurring projects: painted utility (switch) boxes (two rounds of 10 boxes), a set of Little Free Libraries (about 17 launched originally) and other neighborhood-scale art initiatives that local artists and volunteers maintain.

Commissioners said they want to use a mix of social and traditional media to promote events, and discussed making the commission’s Facebook presence more accessible while balancing moderation and maintenance needs. Members agreed to plan events and outreach in advance of a March meeting to have a promotion-ready calendar.