Artadia opens at Mills Gallery

While the question may still be up for debate - has the visual arts scene of South End or even the city arrived yet? - Artadia's Boston 2007 exhibition opening at the Boston Center for the Arts' Mills Gallery on April 18 makes a good case that it has. As a nationally reknowned art-based nonprofit, Artadia's choosing Boston as the fourth city in its national awards program is certainly strong proof of our city's commitment to the production of innovative contemporary art.

The exhibition opened Friday with a bang, as artists, patrons, residents, and members of the art scene in general gathered to celebrate the arrival of Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue to Boston - and yes, this is a big deal. As budgets across the country tighten and nonprofits struggle to get funding, Artadia's choosing Boston is a welcome infusion of both capital and attention for the Boston visual arts community. Artadia has awarded more than $2 million to artists in its chosen cities since the nonprofit's founding in 1997. Significantly, the money awarded is in the form of unrestricted grants, further encouraging artists to do their best to push boundaries without fear of missing out on more conservative donors and funding sources. But more than just the money is the promise of a continued dialogue amongst the various participating cities and artists - creating an ongoing network of support.

Artadia Boston 2007 features 10 Boston-based artists, selected from almost 700 applicants, a new record for the program. A jury of three at-large curators helped to chose the artists, whose media range across the spectrum from painting, video, photography, to site-specific installations and performances. Their work will be on exhibition through June 15. A special discussion with the curator and one of the jurors, who happens to be curator of contemporary art at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, will take place Wednesday, April 30 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Mills Gallery.

For more information on this exhibit and the organization itself visit www.bcaonline.org and www.artadia.org.