Roxbury Open Studios (ROS)—organized this year by nonprofit cultural organization Discover Roxbury—will feature some Mission Hill artists and provide residents free shuttle service into the heart of Roxbury’s art scene Oct. 1 and 2.
Two local artists—watercolor painter Bill Comerford and mixed-media collage artist Kevin Porter—will host exhibitions out of their home studios on the Hill, at 55-57 Delle Ave. and 41 Lawn St., respectively.
The Massachusetts College of Art and Design at 621 Huntington Ave. will host a group show hosted by students from the school’s Black Artist Union. MassArt will also host an opening reception for ROS Sept. 29.
Discover Roxbury spokesperson Laura Palmer told the Gazette that this is the first year that Discover Roxbury has taken a lead role in organizing ROS, and that the group hopes to include a more extensive roster of Mission Hill artists on the open studios roster next year.
“We are absolutely looking to expand, its just a matter of making connections,” she said.
This year, Discover Roxbury hopes to make those connections via shuttle buses, running throughout the weekend, that will leave from Brigham Circle and Roxbury Corssing every 15 minutes.
Discover Roxbury is also featuring a number of Mission Hill restaurants as part of “Roxtoberfest,” an effort to promote Roxbury restaurants that is taking place Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. Participating restaurants will offer discounts to patrons wearing Roxtoberfest T-shirts. Mission Hill restaurants participating in the Roxtoberfest promotion include: Penguin Pizza; The Mission Bar & Grill; Flann O’Brien’s; Crispy Dough Pizzeria; and Lilly’s Gourmet Pasta.