Plátano Power!

It's Preservation Month! This means I am once again making art and raising funds for the Boston Preservation Alliance.

Last year I was both amazed and motivated by the generosity of my network. Y'all give me the energy to continue to photograph, paint, document, and research Boston's curious corners. We smashed my goal and raised over $2,500 in support of the Alliance. I want to pass that goal this year and I have just the thing...

The Plan:

Yes. I will be raffling off some prints again this year. Anything that appears on this page is available as a print to win! Others may be added, but don't bet on it...I'm a slow painter. 

Here is how the raffle will work:

Each gift of $20 or more will get you one entry into the raffle for the entirety of this campaign. (No need to give multiple times to win)
Meaning a gift of:

$20 = 1 entry
$40 = 2 entries
$60 = 3 entries
$80 = 4 entires
$100 = 5 entries and Something Else Really Cool 
you get the picture!

The earlier you make your gift, the less competition you will have to win! (Because there will be fewer people in the running.)
Raffle Drawing Dates:
1st drawing - May 16ish
2nd drawing - May 31ish

But Wait. There's More! (the Something Else Really Cool)

Last year I had the idea of turning my illustrations into a deck of cards. Well...this idea evolved into a partnership with the Boston Public Schools. I spent the past year working with a local school, touring the town with the students. The 6th - 8th-graders interviewed local businesses, neighbors, and artists and wrote tiny biographies about the people they interviewed. I am turning these stories and the photos snapped along the way into a deck of cards called Tour Your Boston. A sample story is below. 

What does this mean for you?

The cards will be printed and in hand by the end of May. I'm immensely excited. Your gift of $100 will get you a pre-order so you can Tour Your Boston and see the city through the eyes of our next generation of urban curators. 

In short – a $100 donation gets you a pre-ordered set of cards AND 5 entries to win a print. 

Here is a sample card and student story (the text is printed below in full so you can read it):

ESL 1 Spanish Grade 7 and 8 Class Biography

Merengue Restaurant

Merengue opened in 1994 on Blue Hill Avenue in Roxbury, Massachusetts. This restaurant serves Dominican food. Hector and Nivia Piña are the owners.

In 1986, Hector moved to Boston from the Dominican Republic. In 1994, he opened Merengue. In 2001, Nivia joined Merengue when the restaurant expanded. In 2012, they opened Vejigantes Restaurant in the heart of the Villa Victoria community. In 2016, they opened Doña Habana restaurant, the first Latino restaurant in a hotel in Massachusetts.

Merengue is special because it does catering for the Boston Red Sox at the stadium, Fenway Park. When the famous baseball player David Ortiz ate at Merengue, he hit more home runs, which he called “plátano power.” Merengue’s food is important for the community because it represents the Dominican Republic and opportunity for the family of Hector and Nivia Piña.

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Your support helps the Boston Preservation Alliance continue to advocate for the city we all love. Buildings are more than bricks and mortar. They are vessels of memory that punch through time. They are the legacy businesses that make Boston unique. They bring the past to the future while also being acts of resilience and defiance. What we choose to preserve matters as it is a reflection of what we value as a culture and as a people. 

The Alliance works to ensure all Bostonians see themselves in the history represented in the buildings and stories we choose to preserve. 

Thank you in advance for your support and for helping me crush our goal. 

For over 40 years the Boston Preservation Alliance has served the residents of Boston as a nonprofit organization that protects and improves the quality of Boston's architectural and cultural heritage. Through advocacy and education, we bring people and organizations together to influence the future of Boston's historic buildings, landscapes, and communities.

Without our members, donors, and community partners, our voice would fall silent–a growing membership makes our voice stronger because together we make Boston better. 

Check out the projects we're currently engaged in and thank you for your continued consideration and support. 

Non-members who donate $20 or greater will receive an annual membership.