MARCH 29-30, 2025 COMMUNITY MAKER WORKSHOPS - ALL WELCOME

12:00-4:00 pm each day

Come to the Commons and build your own art piece using rope, plastics, water bottles, lobster trap material and styrofoam that the Center for Coastal Studies Volunteer Beach Brigades have recovered from beaches near and far. Finished assemblage materials may be added to the exhibition in progress. 

Mark Adams and other CCS staff will be on hand to encourage you.

Marine Debris and Ghost Gear are a continuing hazard to all marine life, the quality of coastal habitat and the health of us all. Whales, seals and sea turtles become entangled, plastic bags suffocate and micro plastics contaminate all forms of life. The Center for Coastal Studies Marine Debris program under staffers Laura Ludwig and Fritz McGirr as well as hundreds of volunteers. They cover beaches and islands from Boston Harbor to all of Cape Cod and southeast New England. They also work with the fishing community to develop safer methods to support sustainable fisheries.

Support their work by volunteering, reducing your use of water bottles and other disposables, and recycling.

Assemblage describes the 3-dimensional art of combining scavenged and non-art materials into sculpture. It originated in part in the movements of Dada and Surrealism in the early 20th century but has also been an American tradition of vernacular and outsider art. Many people design their own spaces using found materials, gnomes and garden art. One of our goals is to repurpose plastics and lost fishing gear in a way that draws attention to their hazards and removes them permanently from the the natural environment.

MARCH 29-30, 2025 COMMUNITY MAKER WORKSHOPS - ALL WELCOME

12:00-4:00 pm each day

Come to the Commons and build your own art piece using rope, plastics, water bottles, lobster trap material and styrofoam that the Center for Coastal Studies Volunteer Beach Brigades have recovered from beaches near and far. Finished assemblage materials may be added to the exhibition in progress. 

Mark Adams and other CCS staff will be on hand to encourage you.

Marine Debris and Ghost Gear are a continuing hazard to all marine life, the quality of coastal habitat and the health of us all. Whales, seals and sea turtles become entangled, plastic bags suffocate and micro plastics contaminate all forms of life. The Center for Coastal Studies Marine Debris program under staffers Laura Ludwig and Fritz McGirr as well as hundreds of volunteers. They cover beaches and islands from Boston Harbor to all of Cape Cod and southeast New England. They also work with the fishing community to develop safer methods to support sustainable fisheries.

Support their work by volunteering, reducing your use of water bottles and other disposables, and recycling.

Assemblage describes the 3-dimensional art of combining scavenged and non-art materials into sculpture. It originated in part in the movements of Dada and Surrealism in the early 20th century but has also been an American tradition of vernacular and outsider art. Many people design their own spaces using found materials, gnomes and garden art. One of our goals is to repurpose plastics and lost fishing gear in a way that draws attention to their hazards and removes them permanently from the the natural environment.

Event Details

We invite the public to be a part of this exciting, interactive, and free event co-hosted by EforAll Cape Cod, the CDP, and Provincetown Commons and supported by a FY25 Massachusetts EOED Urban Agenda grant.

• Where: Provincetown Commons, 46 Bradford St Provincetown

• When: Wednesday, April 02, 2025, from 6 PM – 8:30 PM

A total of four cash prizes will be given out (1st place @ $1000, 2nd @ $750,  3rd place @ $500 as well as a $500 Fan Favorite prize).

A healthy community promotes the physical, mental, and social well-being of all its members. It provides access to essential resources such as healthcare, education, nutritious food, clean water, and safe housing. A healthy community fosters inclusivity, social connections, and economic opportunities while maintaining a clean and sustainable environment. It also ensures safety, encourages active lifestyles, and supports policies that enhance the overall quality of life.

Contest Overview

Fast-paced, fun community events that help early-stage entrepreneurs gain valuable exposure and feedback on a business idea. Great opportunity to network, validate a business idea, and compete to win a cash prize. It is free for entrepreneurs to apply and free for all to attend.

The program is also offered in Spanish in many of our communities. Leer en español

How It Works

EforAll’s Pitch Contests are lively two hour events that offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to share their business ideas with a friendly audience.

• A pre-selected group of Entrepreneurs get the opportunity to pitch their idea to the audience including a group of judges and also set up a table to showcase their product/service. A pitch must be no longer than 2.5 minutes.

• After the pitches, the judges will award three of the four cash prizes while the audience will vote on who will win the fourth cash prize.

• NOTE: A group of entrepreneurs who are not selected to pitch will get an opportunity to set up a table to showcase their business idea. Attendees will vote to see if one of these entrepreneurs will also get the opportunity to pitch their idea

A ‘Writings-Poetry Dialog’ is planned w/ local resident and award-winning poet and photographer Linda Ohlson Graham and International Award-winning poet Alatishe Kolawole zooming in from Nigeria.

Alatishe contacted Linda in Sept. 2022 and soon-after SAVE OUR EARTH: PROMOTING PEACE AND PLANETARY WELLNESS was available on Amazon. SAVE THE EARTH is also available in Provincetown, MA USA at WomenCrafts, East End Books, PAAM, and Provincetown Bookshop.

Crisis can bring about an evolutionary leap.

There are laws of manifestation ... We, in fact, are co-creators and can more fully actualize our experience.. Linda Ohlson Graham: named Colorado USA Department of Peace Poet Laureate in Oct. 2009, is a fine photographer and ectatic poet who has been actively sharing her 'Vision for Global Peace, calmer weather, the end to terrorist attacks, and potential for insights that could lead to widespread healing' ... beginning the day she composed a 'Formula for Global Peace' @ 4am Sept. 12, 2001 after seeing the attack on the World Trade Center building the day before on TV. Her 'Formula' is visible @ https://www/earthoceanheavens.com/vision ...

Linda has shared her Vision for Peace @ 70 events ... beginning New Year's Day 2003 during the Annual Day of Prayer for WORLD PEACE - Englewood (FL) United Methodist Church - Linda was invited to be a guest poet/speaker for 15 minutes of the service - Note: 1,000 people attended with 5 interfaith speakers ... The head of the Presbyterian Church in America gave the main talk.

Alatishe Kolawole’s newest book HUMAN TOGETHERNESS is a heartfelt vision for Humanity's Interdependence and Global peace. It promotes the Legacy of Unity. International Award winning Author Alatishe Kolawole sings of hope. He advocates for peace equality and progress. He won the Gold medal at the prestigious international prize for Universal Peace 'Frate Ilaro del Corvo' and has been recognized with several international honors for poetry and civil commitment, including a European commission

commendation and Kanoni's important official certificate of recognition in Kampala preparatory school, Uganda. Alatishe and/or Linda would love to dialog w/ ‘you’ re: their Vision for widespread Peace and healing + calmer weather patterns.

Free Small Business Assistance
April 8, 2025
10 - 2 PM
The Commons
46 Bradford. St, Provincetown

MassHire Cape & Islands Career Center will join our April office hours. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how MassHire can support your business growth

Ready to launch or grow your business? The Community Development Partnership (CDP) offers free in-person consultations at The Commons. Get expert advice on business strategy, cash flow projections, QuickBooks, sales, marketing, financial management, and e xplore microloan options.

Provincetown Commons and the Community Development Partnership are pleased to announce the 2025 Creative Development Series. Over the course of six weeks, the two organizations will offer six free courses to individuals seeking to enhance the business side of their creative practice. This year, the workshops directly stem from the results of a community survey that asked what needs folks want to focus on now. The classes will all have a “learn, then do” component to them. Participants will hear from artists and creative workers, and each session will have time devoted to students practicing the work themselves. All courses are free; registration is recommended.

COLOR AND COMPOSITION

Our last class will lean into some creative practice with Color and Composition, featuring Jo Hay and Jim Broussard. The two local artists will team up to discuss color theory, the effects of building color on a canvas, and composition of a work. Participants will experiment with swatches of color and various compositional arrangements. Perhaps our most hands-on workshop of the series, this class will allow participants to try out something new and receive feedback on their experimentation.

with Jo hay and Jim Broussard

WORKSHOPS

• Jan 28 Marketing/Branding Yourself and Your Online Presence with Ali Blake, Naya Bricher, Myra Kooy, Paul Rizzo, Abe Storer, Sylvia Tomayko-Peters, and Andy Towle.

• Feb 11 All Things Canva with Luna eve

• Feb 25 Photographing and Archiving Your Work with Seth Abrahamson and Madeleine Larson

• Mar 11 Joining a Creative Community with Megan Hinton and Susie Neilson - This is a special event - workshop from 5 - 6:30 and dinner from 6:30 - 8pm.

• Mar 25 Grants and Residencies with Lesley Marchessault and James Stanley

• Apr 8 Color and Composition with Jo Hay & Jim Broussard

It’s Happening. Thursday, May 8, 2025, 7:00pm, marks the official beginning of the 1st Annual Outsiders Festival atThe Provincetown Commons. In the spirit of the Sun Gallery and the HCE Gallery, it’s a Happening like no other as the the past and the present cross paths for a look into the future utitilizing AI and AR digital technologies. Music by Steinway. Art by fluxus. Provincetown Collagists by Karen Cappotto and the Camp Provincetown alumni.

There was John Henry and Pecos Bill, Harry Kemp, and AI Hansen. Yes. Create your own mythos.

“The happening is the most delightful and exciting challenge to theatrical deadweight in may a year. Increasingly the young people put them on, while the theater institution wonders where everybody is and whatever became of Broadway. This book is the first book that attempts to deal in a concise way with all the aspects of the happening and its related forms and analogues. Al Hansen, one of America’s leading pop artists and a pioneer in the development of the happening, here presents his delightful account of what this very lively medium is all about. No work of scholarship, the intent of this book is to inform, to provoke original thought on the part of the reader, and perhaps to suggest that he try his own experiments.” – Al Hansen – “A Primer of Happenings & Time/Space Art” – 1965

THE ART OF SPECTACULARISM

“No Sniping: Representing the healthy troublemakers is Al Hansen, a young New York artist who directs the HCE (Here Comes Everybody) Gallery, Provincetown’s best, and shows his own elegant and witty collages at the more far-out East End Gallery. “The Art Association is a great case of artertiosclerosis,” Hansen says. For him the uniqueness of Provincetown as an art colony is the selling aspect. “East Hampton and other summer places don’t sell,” he points out. “There are just collectors sniping away in the dunes, trying to get works cheap.” – August 24, 1964, Newsweek Magazine

Come the summers of 1959 and 1960, the seeds were being sown for a full blown high water mark in the canon of American cultural enlightenment. We got woke in the early 20th century (the 19-teens Cultural Moment , the Roaring 20s), when any momentum was conveniently interupted by two World Wars. It was all just dress rehearsal for what was to now nostagically referred to as the “60s.”

Visionaries in the world of the art business kept one foot in a cutting edge New York City market while mixing business and pleasure at the tip of Cape Cod. When Picasso was first shown in the USA, Alfred Steiglitz apologetically returned Pablo his work after a cold reception from art patrons and museum curators alike. Provincetown gallerists like Ivan Karp and Nathan Halper held bunny ears as the reward for seeing Warhol and Lichtenstein as the future while buyers missed the opportunity to snatch up the early work of the Pop revolution for short change. There were no red dots at the HCE in those early days. The art of future Provincetown greats like Robert Motherwell and Milton Avery had still yet to get the traction that would later send the value of their work into the stratosphere.

There was enough wiggle room in these post-WWII, pre-internet days where it would be hard to prove or disprove much of anything coming out of many a man’s mouth and great artists like Joseph Beuys were just as crafty at creating their own mythos as they were at putting paint to canvas and this is where the story of Al Hansen begins.

The seven-month-old Hansen skipped the pacifier for he’d rather a No. 2 pencil to play with. The precocious young artist with the Prince Valiant hairdo, recalled his early foray into art as, “looked upon a suspect.” His first performance art piece involved tossing the teacher’s chair and personal belongings out the window along with all the chalkboard erasers when the teacher briefly left the classroom unattended. Growing up in Jamaica, Queens sealed his his fate as a juveline deliquent often joyriding borrowed cars with neighbor and future author Jimmy Breslin, the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight , as his co-pilot.

“I would constantly lose interest, because I was probably always being held back to the mien of the norm, which is one of the basic things the matter with American education.” – Al Hansen – Archives of American Art – 1973

WE ARE THRILLED TO INVITE YOU TO A SUMMER KICK-OFF FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT THE COMMONS. JOIN US SUNDAY, MAY 25 FROM 1 - 4 PM.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!

Date: Sunday, May 25th
Who: Past, current and interested
supporters of The Commons
Location: 46 Bradford Street, Provincetown
Time: 1-4PM

SPECIAL, An Award-Winning New Play & Film Project
by Writer Director Producer Ann P Meredith

SCRIPTED PERFORMANCE

June 6th 2025 - 630-830pm Provincetown Commons A Collaborative Workspace for Artists 46 Bradford Street Provincetown, MA 02657
* All Welcome - Free and Open to the Public Produced by Swordfish Productions Pictures & Theatricals www.annpmeredith.com

Since January 1970 Swordfish Productions has been creating Social Impact Art, Photography, Film and Theatre to give a compassionate and realistic face and voice to people and cultures who have been injured, marginalized under-represented and therefore under-served

Facts
1 out of every 4 Girls and 1 out of every 6 Boys Will be sexually assaulted before they reach the age of 18 93% of victims Know their attacker High School Girls are 5X more at Risk SPECIAL is a Healing Tool for the World SPECIAL Changes People’s lives Forever

For Help Contact Provincetown PRIDE Center 115 Bradford Street 508.975.6394 Outer Cape Health Services 49 Kemp Way 508.487.9395 Helping Our Women 34 Conwell Street 617.719.6865 helpingourwomen.org ASGCC AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod 96 Bradford Street 

Cast Ann, Cynthia, Anne, Jody, Loren, Nat, Sam, Tamora