FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2007

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director 617-727-3668 x343
or Rob Watson, Communications Coordinator 617-727-3668 x268
or Beverly Snow, Arsenal Center for the Arts 617-923-0100 x309

IN SIGHTS: Photography by Award-Winning Massachusetts Artists

MCC and Arsenal Center for the Arts Present:
In Sights: Photography by Award-Winning Massachusetts Artists
September 11- November 18, 2007
Opening Reception: Tues., September 18, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and Arsenal Center for the Arts will present In Sights: Photography by Award-Winning Massachusetts Artists from September 11- November 18, 2007 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts gallery in Watertown. The exhibition will showcase some of the Commonwealth’s most talented photographers as they examine a wide range of subjects.

In Sights features ten photographers recognized by the MCC's Artist Fellowship Program: Ri Anderson (Cambridge), Claire Beckett (Jamaica Plain), David Bookbinder (Beverly), Stephen DiRado (Worcester), Barry Goldstein (North Adams), Adam Lampton (Jamaica Plain), Rania Matar (Brookline), Anne Rearick (Gloucester), Joshua Winer (Boston), and Tom Young (Charlemont). These photographers were selected from a pool of 285 applicants. The jurors included photographers Elinor Carucci, Albert Chong, and Richard Sandler as well as curator Toby Jurovics. MCC Artist Fellowships provide direct assistance to Massachusetts artists working across a range of disciplines, to recognize exceptional work and to support the further development of their talents. Artist Fellowships give individuals the financial ability to hone and deepen their craft.

While a number of themes recur in these artists' works – war, suffering, manipulation of the natural world – they are primarily tied together by their excellence and innovation.

"We're pleased to partner with The Arsenal Center for the Arts in order to exhibit the work of these MCC Artist Fellowship recipients and finalists," says Anita Walker, MCC Executive Director. "We have an abundance of exceptionally creative and innovative artists here in Massachusetts. Artist Fellowships are one way in which the MCC serves those talented individuals. This exhibition offers great examples of the art going on here in Massachusetts – provocative, smart, and innovatively crafted."

Samples of their work can be found on Gallery@MCC, the MCC's online showcase of Artist Fellows and Finalists.

In Sights is free and open to the public.

The Arsenal Center for the Arts Gallery
321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA
Gallery hours extended to Wednesday - Sunday, noon – 8 pm

About the Arsenal Center for the Arts
The Arsenal Center for the Arts opened in September of 2005 in Watertown as an interdisciplinary center for the arts. The 30,000 square-foot facility in The Arsenal on the Charles business complex is unique outside downtown Boston and offers as its own programming an array of performances, lectures, classes and workshops for all ages, and events related to music, art, and literature. It is home to two well-known theater companies (the New Repertory Theatre and Watertown Children's Theatre) and the Quilters' Connection and regularly hosts the improvisational comedy troupe Improv Jones. The facility contains two theaters, five artist studios, five classroom/meeting rooms, three levels of gallery space and a gallery/shop.

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council
The Massachusetts Cultural Council promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities.

MCC is a state agency committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. It pursues this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.

## Media Note: Please contact MCC Communications Dept at 617-727-3668 x343 or greg.liakos@state.ma.us for high-resolution images, or to arrange interviews with the artists.