WHAT: The MassArt Art Museum (MAAM) announces a large-scale, spray-painted mural by artist and MassArt alumnus Cedric Douglas ‘11 to be prominently displayed on the museum’s façade on Huntington Avenue, Boston’s Avenue of the Arts. The site-specific installation is presented as part of The Myth of Normal: A Celebration of Authentic Expression, a group exhibition honoring the college’s 150th anniversary, which includes artwork by 30 alumni and is guest-curated by MassArt alumni Mari Spirito ‘92. Douglas’ mural welcomes visitors upon entering MAAM and features two MassArt undergraduate students Kai Buffonge (‘26 Illustration) and Shurvina Heraldo (‘26 SIM), who are presently enrolled in the college’s undergraduate Compass Program, from which the artist is also an alumnus. MassArt’s Compass Program was established in 2001 to help first generation college students navigate their college experience. The program offers support from first year through graduation by building connections and community with students, faculty mentors, and staff. As the nation’s only independent public college of art and design, MassArt is dedicated to providing access to arts and design education, with over 25% of its undergraduate student population comprising first generation college students.

WHERE: MassArt Art Museum Main Entrance (621 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115).

WHEN: Weather permitting, installation begins on Monday, September 18 and is scheduled to end on September 25. The artist is available for interviews during installation.

ABOUT CEDRIC DOUGLAS

Cedric Douglas (b. Boston, 1977) lives and works in New Bedford, MA. In 2011, Douglas received a BFA in Communication Design from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The artist and designer integrates graffiti ideology into design and advertising. His work is inspired by everyday life idioms and the subculture of street art, using this approach to express his social views on the world. Douglas is the Creative Director of The Up Truck, a mobile arts lab created to engage residents of Uphams Corner in Dorchester, MA. Douglas has been an artist-in-residence at Northeastern University and Emerson College.

ABOUT THE MYTH OF NORMAL

The exhibition The Myth of Normal: A Celebration of Authentic Expression looks at social and emotional norms that have been codified over our collective past, and takes inspiration from Dr. Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté’s 2022 book of the same title. The Matés looked at the importance of authentic expression as a means to heal some of our most violent social conditioning, whether by way of race, class, gender, or political difference. This exhibition explores the role of art in overall wellness and asks, “What knowledge do we hope to gain from each other over the next 150 years, and in what ways?”

ABOUT MASSART ART MUSEUM

The MassArt Art Museum (MAAM) is Boston’s only free contemporary art museum. After extensive renovations, MAAM opened in February 2020 in the space formerly known as the Bakalar & Paine Galleries at the heart of MassArt’s campus on the Avenue of the Arts. MAAM is a kunsthalle, or non-collecting museum, showing temporary exhibitions that feature the work of emerging to established artists to bring fresh and varied perspectives to Boston. As MassArt’s teaching museum, MAAM is a resource for MassArt students and faculty, educating students about contemporary art, partnering with faculty to support the curriculum, and preparing students for careers in the museum field. As an extension of the College’s public mission, the Museum offers pathways to education in the arts and free educational programming for the public.

ABOUT MASSART

Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) is a public, independent institution that prepares artists, designers, and educators to shape communities, economies, and cultures for the common good. Since 1873, MassArt has built a legacy of leadership as the first freestanding

public college of art and design in the country, and the nation’s first art school to grant a degree. MassArt offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, design, and art education, taught by world-class faculty.

PRESS CONTACT

Thomas Brown, Thomas Brown Communications

E: thomas@thomas-brown.info 

T:+1 917-968-3351