On November 13, I participated in my first Pre-Texts workshop. Having heard about Pre-Texts, I was excited but also quite afraid because I do not consider myself to be an artist or even a creative person. I joined a group of mostly native Spanish speakers to work with “Prometheus Bound” by Aeschylus. Although some participants knew very little English, they were still able to understand the text by the end of the workshop.
By the end of the workshop, I realized that reading, playing with the text through art-making activities and sharing one’s creations with the rest of the group were more important than one’s level of artistic aptitude.There are no pre-conditions or requirements for participating in Pre-Texts. The playful and supportive environment of a Pre-Texts workshop is rarely found in a conventional classroom which often centers on answering questions set by the teacher. During the workshop, I began to realize that play, hearing and asking a multitude of questions constructed by the participants, and focusing on multiple interpretations was actually a very interesting and innovative way to learn. I realized that participants learned not only from the challenging classic text “Prometheus Bound,” but also from their peers and the realization of their own capabilities. Pre-Texts showed me, that reading and learning can be fun, especially when practiced in a warm and cooperative space.

As the last visitor in Cultural Agents course, on 2nd December, came to share with students Julie Burros the chief of Arts and Culture at City of Boston. In a very interesting conversation, she explained the different strategies and plans that the local govenrment is implementing in Boston, making efforts to achieve a more equal distribution of arts and culture through the city and encouraging people to participate actively in Boston’s cultural life.She also presented two news challenges that they are working on. The first it’s called Boston Creates and consists of building a cultural plan for the city with community engagement. That’s why they have called town meetings for discussing the different subjects related to arts and culture. She explained that this plan expects to be ready at June 2016.

The second project is called Boston’s Artist-In-Residence Program. The government,after a public call selected 11 artists that will expand their creativity and own social-civic practice, alongside a group of liaisons from city agencies, including: Public Works, Property and Construction Management, Parks and Recreation, Veterans’ Services, Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Education, for co-design project proposals. Three proposals will be chosen for further development, and artists will working for six-month residencies within a city department to develop creative approaches that can be incorporated into the work of the city.