The library is pleased to bring back the Gallery @ SPL this May with a community forum and opening reception to share Jared Katsiane's interactive video exhibition: Southie Then and Now – A Neighborhood Transformed.

About the Exhibit:

This exhibition reveals the transformation of South Boston, from a mostly low-to-moderate income community (where Katsiane’s family lived and worked for 30 years) with an industrial history similar to Somerville, into today’s gentrified area filled with luxury condos. It will show how neighborhood identity shifted radically over 50 years, and features split-screen images from Hollywood’s views of South Boston with current footage of identical locations. The changes highlighted resonate with many cities, including Somerville, with similar histories and the struggle to maintain affordable housing. Using a paper map of South Boston, with locations depicted in the video, and listings of housing organizations and other community resources. Viewers can use color markers to write and draw their stories of Somerville community change on the exhibition’s fabric wall.

About Jared Katsiane:

Using 16mm film and video, Jared Katsiane is an award-winning artist whose work has screened at 550 international festivals, in museums, galleries, and broadcast on television. He received a 2015 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship. More information is available at jaredkatsiane.com.