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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

To Begin Again: Artists and Childhood

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, The Beautyful Ones Series #7, 2018.

Oct 6, 2022 – Feb 6, 2023
25 Harbor Shore Dr, Boston, MA 02210

“I’ve got a magic charm / that I keep up my sleeve / I can walk the ocean floor / and never have to breathe.” These lines come from Maya Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” in which she writes from the perspective of a child. The exhibition “To Begin Again” comes from the same place: it looks at the magical ways in which children use imagination, creativity, to cope with and shape the world around them. With works by 40 multigenerational and multinational artists from the early 20th century to today, the show explores childhood and early human development from many distinctive viewpoints. Among those featured are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Berenice Olmedo, Heji Shin, and Oscar Murillo. —Nyla Gilstrap

Photo: © Njideka Akunyili Crosby