boston progress radio

what do you get when you combine a surprisingly mild saturday in november, a discussion on color theory, a tall ladder, and hundreds of people-hours?  a fresh face for the place boston progress arts collective calls home: east meets west.

i think the history of the bookstore has been mentioned on bprlive in the past, but to refresh memories… the bookstore opened roughly 10 years ago by the first-generation Chinese Kong family. The bookstore was intended to be a resource for classic Chinese texts that were not available anywhere else in the area.  After a few years of struggling, the store closed, and lay dormant.  just waiting to be re-discovered.

In the fall of 2004, boston progress dusted off cobwebs, disrupted dustbunnies and brought sunshine back into the space.  the gates of the locked bookstore were finally re-opened, but with a second-generation remix.  new, independently published api* products- CD’s, chapbooks, t-shirts, and artwork- not available anywhere else in the area, brought fresh air into storefront.  as open mics, followed by community gatherings and art exhibitions transformed the tiny space into an informal community center.

but as usual history began to repeat itself.  despite all the volunteer enthusiasm, the bookstore was not able to stay open as a retail store.  and most people find the gates locked 29 out of the 30 days of a month, with the exception of the thriving open mic night.

but can anyone ever contain the potential of bpac?  never!!!!  so this past weekend, filled with hopes of change, members of bpac took on the on-coming winter and gave the store a much-needed makeover.  

with the warm-ish weather on our side, we climbed ladders, hung out of windows, climbed to the rooftop, stood on whatever tall surface we could find to bring freshness to the bookstore.  once again.

old volunteers, along side new volunteers have left their mark on Mass Ave.  opening a new chapter of the bookstore.  with an updated look, and much needed care, the potential of what the bookstore can achieve is once again ignited.

what’s next, we can only imagine.  but at least the dreams are slowly beginning to take on a visual and physical presence.

now, onto the photos!!!!!

Last 5 posts by theresa

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Tags: Appreciation, Boston Progress, east meets west, Love, Recap.