The group will read from works in progress set outside of Boston, and will participate in an interactive panel discussion moderated by AGNI’s Senior Editor, Bill Pierce.

Come learn about the relationship between the writer's work and the experience of being an artist in the City of Boston. How do these things intersect? How do they influence each other? What are the challenges and advantages of writing about a place where you no longer live? What can these writers bring to the city? How can writers and readers in Boston think of literature as a global experience?

The Back Porch Collective is a group comprised of mostly international writers from diverse backgrounds:

• Dariel Suarez (Cuba)
• Stacy Mattingly (Atlanta)
• Shubha Sunder (India)
• Jonathan Escoffery (Miami/Jamaica)
• Ani Gjika (Albania)
• and Colwill Brown (United Kingdom)

Through the Artist Fellowship, the City of Boston offered five awards of $10,000 each in 2017 to Boston-based artists across disciplines. More than 300 applications were reviewed by a panel of jurors made up of local arts leaders and Boston Cultural Council members. Fellows were asked to work with the City on one public event showcasing their work. The 2017 fellows included Dariel Suarez, Mary-Jane Dohery, Marilyn Arsem, Jason Palmer, and Michelle Fornabai.

For the past year, seven artists have dedicated themselves to the exploration of City of Boston policies, processes, and practices through a lens of resilience and racial equity. As members of the Boston AIR cohort, artists developed multidisciplinary projects addressing civic concerns, such as:

• environmental racism in climate change response
• community activism led by older Bostonians, and
• gaps in historic narratives in City archives and memorials.

Some have worked alongside City subject matter experts and co-designed a program, while others have worked with community centers and other partners to understand municipal policy impact on a personal level. Through Boston AIR, the City of Boston is providing support and structure for artists as engaged citizens, leading thinkers, and change-makers in our community with the belief and trust that artists can and do influence and shape our City.

Refreshments will be served, and the event is free to the public. All ages are welcome!

Join the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Harvard Ed Portal to learn about the Boston Cultural Council's Opportunity Fund.

In this round of the Opportunity Fund, Harvard University has contributed an additional $10,000 to be awarded to Allston-Brighton artists and projects as part of the ArtLab community benefits agreement. Find out how you can build a strong application and other ways the Ed Portal can support your work through space use and outreach. Dinner will be provided starting at 6:30 p.m. and the info session will begin at 7 p.m.

Register for the info session

As part of National Recovery Month, we're hosting the Mayor’s Recovery Month Book Club, a series of events encouraging Bostonians to read books related to substance use and addiction. One of the featured titles is "If You Love Me: A Mother's Journey Through Her Daughter's Opioid Addiction" by Maureen Cavanagh.

Join Maureen in a conversation at the South Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library on September 13 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. to discuss her memoir and the impact the opioid epidemic has had on the City of Boston.

More Recovery Month events

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Office of Recovery Services is partnering with RIZE Massachusetts to host free public book groups across the City in honor of National Recovery Month. This event will be held at the Central Branch Library of the Boston Public Library on Tuesday, September 25, at 6 p.m.

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Office of Recovery Services is partnering with RIZE Massachusetts to host free public book groups across the City in honor of National Recovery Month. This event will be held at the Central Branch Library of the Boston Public Library on Wednesday, September 19, at 2:30 p.m.

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Office of Recovery Services is partnering with RIZE Massachusetts to host free public book groups across the City in honor of National Recovery Month. This event will be held at the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library on Thursday, September 20, at 3 p.m.

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Office of Recovery Services is partnering with RIZE Massachusetts to host free public book groups across the City in honor of National Recovery Month. This event will be held at the Egleston Square Branch of the Boston Public Library on Wednesday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Office of Recovery Services is partnering with RIZE Massachusetts to host free public book groups across the City in honor of National Recovery Month. This event will be held at the Adams Street Branch of the Boston Public Library on Wednesday, September 26, at 6:30 p.m.