Arts and Culture
in East Boston
Artistic output in East Boston has always reflected the distinct cultural communities who have populated it, as well as the unique environmental factors associated with its harborside location. Fans of music, visual art, and environmentally-focused art will find a community like no other in Eastie.
From live performance to the radio, Latin rhythms shape the sonic character of the neighborhood. Exiting the Maverick T stop, one is likely to pass a busker playing Latin American music. ZUMIX, a non-profit based in Eastie which enriches the community through music and creative technology classes, also hosts a radio station, 94.9 FM ZUMIX Radio. The station broadcasts the voices and culture of East Boston’s youth through music, stories, and bilingual conversation. Keep an eye out for ZUMIX’s summer concert series, which fills East Boston’s Piers Park with music every Sunday during the warmer months. The Veronica Robles Cultural Center also offers educational programs in Latin America music, dance, and theatre to connect East Boston youth with their cultural heritage.
In 2018, the Institute of Contemporary Art opened its Watershed location in the East Boston Harbor Shipyard, joining other visual art communities in East Boston like the Atlantic Works Gallery and East Boston Artists Group. The Watershed is open seasonally from May to September, and visitors to the main ICA location in Seaport can take a ferry across the harbor to visit the new Eastie warehouse.
Finally, East Boston is home to over a dozen murals which interlace beauty and environmental concerns. Many of these murals can be found on the East Boston Greenway, a 3.3 mile path which stretches from the harbor past the airport. Guided tours of these murals are provided during the warm months by HarborArts, a non-profit which also hosts an outdoor gallery in the East Boston shipyard. Visitors can follow a self-guided mural tour linked here.