On May 31, after four years in operation in Fields Corner, the Howard Art Project (HAP) will cease operating the second-story space at 1486 Dorchester Ave. HAP members promised that at the end of this month they would hand over the keys to “some longtime friends and collaborators.”
“We are very happy to report that the space will continue to function as a studio and exhibition space, but under a different name, different mission, and a new cast of organizers,” the organization said in a statement.
At present, however, details about the possible reincarnation of the multipurpose venue are murky.
An artist-run studio and exhibition space founded by six members of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts community in June of 2011, HAP saw itself as “a proposal-based venue, open to applications from the community at large.” HAP hosted art exhibitions, performances, educational workshops and lectures featuring emerging, under-represented, non-traditional and cross- disciplinary approaches to artistic production.
In its recent media release, HAP retraced its history: “Four years ago six friends decided to lease a nearly abandoned and demo-worthy space above a furniture store. We wanted to create a space to work and (hopefully) exhibit. We spent months renovating the space ourselves. Over the past four years so many amazing artists and curators have come into our space. With their help, we’ve managed to put together four years of programming that anyone would be proud to be part of.”
HAP functioned as a sort of landlord renting out small studio spaces, but also used its various gallery spaces to host one-shot or short-term installations, MFA thesis exhibitions, drag performances, and other, definition-defying experiments.
While most denizens of Fields Corner who passed HAP’s front door daily were oblivious of what was going upstairs, many of the city’s most progressive art critics and arts boosters took notice of and celebrated HAP’s innovative experiments.
Cate McQuaid occasionally reviewed HAP shows in the arts pages of the Boston Globe. One show she was intrigued by was “Performing Illness,” featuring the work of three artists who manage chronic illness, including Jodie Mim Goodnough.
“Goodnough was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and put on lithium for 14 years. She’s also taken anti-depressants for chronic fatigue. In her video ‘36, 835,’ she sits on a bed counting out the number of pills she has consumed over the years. The performance took more than nine hours. She gives us a taste of what ‘chronic’ means.”
HAP participated in Dorchester Open Studios several years in a row, and welcomed its neighbors through local social media. In its farewell thank-yous, HAP members mentioned such local arts luminaries as Roseanne Foley, Dot Art, and the also now-shuttered Lufthansa Studios.
While HAP wants to continue to be a local presence, the future of the space is as elusive as the meaning of some of its exhibits.
Margery Buckingham, a Dot artist who rents studio space there, is unsure how much longer she’ll be there.
“Membership has changed over the two years I have been involved,” said Buckingham. “The details, i.e.. new rent, haven’t been communicated to current members yet. That will affect my decision on whether I stay or not.”
Overseeing the transition is Will Wheaton, an artist-in-residence/educator for various Boston non-profits. He told the Reporter, “Though [details are] not finalized yet, I am in the process of negotiating to keep the space open and running, under a new name and organization, as studio and gallery space, along with other programming. I would be happy to tell you more once plans are finalized in a few weeks.”
