Community Curators

for the UnCommon Corner

Ágora Cultural Architects

Ágora Cultural Architects is a women-owned cultural business, founded in March 2019 to be the partner of Latinx arts and culture. We create, empower, and promote the sustainability of the makers of Latin American culture in the US and Puerto Rico. We do that by optimizing tools for creators and organizations to fulfill their goals, namely: audience building; events, audiovisual and literary production; funding; and professional development. Ágora was founded in March 2019 by: Beba Rivera, a communications and production manager, and Elsa Mosquera-Sterenberg, a bridge-building cultural jedi, Beba and Elsa joined forces to accelerate the creative ways in which Latinx culture can be seen and enjoyed. Together, they have assembled a dynamic team of rebels and insurgents that enjoy creative challenges.

BAMS Fest

Boston Art, Music, and Soul Fest is a cultural movement led by Greater Boston Black and Brown artists, culture makers and creative entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of racial equity, spatial justice, and economic empowerment.

BAMS Fest is a nonprofit organization that breaks down racial and social barriers to arts, music, and culture across Greater Boston. Through edutainment (education + entertainment), strategic partnerships and cultural programming, we celebrate and support both artists and audiences, with an emphasis on Black and Brown voices, perspectives, and artistry.​

Departure Arts

OUR MISSION: Departure Arts builds community through facilitating creative collaborations, amplifying historically underrepresented artistic voices, and supporting artistic risk-taking for Boston area artists, organizations, and audiences.​

OUR VISION: Departure Arts believes in the unifying power of the performing and visual arts to connect our community – both audiences and artists.  For our audiences, we look to increase access to the arts by presenting in non-traditional venues, hosting local artists, and building collaborations across art forms and disciplines. For our artists, we provide space for artists to take artistic risks, not often afforded to creatives, that support the development and expansion of their career, network, and art.

OUR COMMUNITY: Departure Arts is proud to participate in the Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture Program, where all of our events are pay-what-you-can.  The Card to Culture program is a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Massachusetts Health Connector, and the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program by extending free admission to our events for all cardholders.

HipStory

HipStory LLC. is a digital media agency & incubator creating, curating, and highlighting unique, innovative, and inspiring art. We are redefining the future history of media by creating products that cultivate stories through digital media and event curation. Our work is rooted in fostering a creative environment where people can explore their vision freely, safely, and fully.

First as an album title for Boston bred hip hop crew Valid-Dictorians, HipStory became a collective of musicians committed to the culture. Beginning in 2012 HipStory through music performances and production, film, and event creation and curation,developed relationships and sought to create opportunities with the Boston community that they knew: Black, Brown, First nation, immigrant, LGBTQIA creatives. As HipStory The collective’s vision clarified as the need of the community became more clear- the Boston creatives in their circle voices were often used, rarely recognized, and largely unpaid. We became focused on creating spaces that would change this narrative. To highlight the stories of historically erased peoples, giving space to our voices, our experiences, our celebration, our fears, we began to shift to a   digital media agency and incubator highlighting the rich culture, artistry, and economic potential of the Greater Boston area. In 2022 we officially became HipStory LLC – a digital media agency and incubator highlighting the rich culture, artistry, and economic potential of the Greater Boston area. We serve a mixture of businesses, nonprofits, brands, and creatives to amplify the voices of the BIPOC community through music and film production, audio and visual services, and event curation.

Levitate Foundation

Levitate Foundation is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of Levitate, on a mission to uplift communities by conserving and creating access to the arts and outdoors. Now in its fourth year of operations, the Foundation invests in emerging artists, community leaders, and the next generation of creatives and outdoor enthusiasts through grants, mentorship, experiences, and support for emerging artists at a critical point in their careers.

Since its founding, the Foundation’s Send a Kid to Camp program has helped more than 500 kids access arts and outdoor camp experiences, while our Community Grants have supported local leaders in creating access to arts-related projects and programs for more than 4,000 people. And through our newest initiative – the Emerging Artist Showcase – the Foundation is awarding more than $100,000 directly to emerging musicians and visual artists, providing an opportunity to showcase their work at Levitate Music Festival while helping provide the resources, exposure, and opportunities that can move a creative career forward.

A cornerstone of this work is the Foundation’s annual Emerging Artist Series, which creates meaningful opportunities for artists to showcase their work and build momentum at critical points in their careers. This year, more than 800 musicians applied to the Foundation’s Songwriter of the Year program, with six selected by a panel of industry experts to receive grants and perform at Levitate Music Festival. Through our partnership with Emerson College and the UnCommon Stage, we’re honored to extend that opportunity for four of those six artists, building on the momentum sparked at Levitate Music Festival before they head into the studio, where their Foundation grants will help fund the professional recording of their next projects.

For Levitate Foundation, supporting emerging artists means more than a single grant or performance. It means creating a series of opportunities that help talented artists keep moving forward, reach new audiences, and turn momentum into sustainable creative careers.

Puppet Showplace Theater

Puppet Showplace Theater is New England’s center for puppetry arts, and was founded in 1974 by visionary educator and puppeteer Mary Churchill. From the day it opened, Puppet Showplace became a home for touring puppet companies from across New England and beyond. Puppet Showplace Theater is dedicated to presenting outstanding professional puppetry to diverse audiences through performances, workshops, and community outreach.

Each year, we present over 300 performances by professional puppet companies to audiences of all ages at our intimate Brookline Village theater. Touring productions reach thousands more at schools, libraries, theaters, and cultural centers throughout the Northeast region and beyond.

We offer workshops, classes, summer programs, and training opportunities to both children and adults, and we partner with local and emerging artists to develop new and innovative puppetry productions. From children’s birthday party performances to provocative Puppets at Night shows, our programming is designed to reach a large and diverse audience of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities