Spotlight on the Arts and Culture Excursions SIG
February 8, 2024
by Mark Seliber
“Give me your tired, your poor over-Zoomed BOLLI members,Yearning to go out
Send these, the restless, to museums, theatres, tours and lunch
We lift our spirits with culture and community”
(with apologies to Emma Lazarus)
BOLLI members at the Opera House.
The Arts and Culture Excursions Special Interest Group (SIG) just started in the fall of 2022, but has already become a very popular and well-attended community for BOLLI members. The trips, which are planned by members of the SIG, so far have included theatre performances, visits to museums and special exhibitions, tours of theatres and even visits to Jewish Chelsea, the Boston University “Jenga” building, the Federal Court House and the Bonhams Skinner’s Art Auction House. These activities always feature a specially-arranged guided tour or talkback after a play. And they generally include lunch at a nearby restaurant before or after.
I have attended many of these excursions myself. I spoke with the SIG’s co-leaders, Jennifer Coplon and Marsha Semuels, to learn where the idea of the group came from, how well they think it has worked so far and what they envision for its future.
The origin story of the Arts and Culture Excursions SIG occurred on two separate tracks that happily arrived at the same station. Jennifer had led two 10-week study groups on cultural masks around the world and included guest speakers in her classes. When Avi heard about the curator of the “Touching Roots” exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts offering to lead a tour, he asked if this experience could be made available to all BOLLI members. Avi also gathered a group of BOLLI members known for their interest in the arts to explore the possibility of a new Special Interest Group that focused on in-person cultural “field trips” for BOLLI members, just as we were emerging from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BOLLI members at the MIT Museum.
Meanwhile, Marsha, the chair of the Study Group Support Committee, had been engaged in efforts to have more in-person classes and provide more opportunities for members to get together in person. Early on, Marsha became involved with this new SIG and stepped up to become co-chair with Jennifer.
“Preludes”, a musical at the Lyric Stage, and a tour of the Danforth Museum in Framingham were among the first excursions, in the fall of 2022. There were about 20 events in 2023 and several already in January 2024, with many more planned for later this year.
For each proposed excursion, a member of the SIG is responsible for identifying the locations, making private tour arrangements, collecting money (if any), providing guidance on transportation and parking and arranging for lunch. Already, over a dozen SIG members have been in charge of different trips.
We have been complimented frequently by tour guides for our engagement and for asking a lot of great questions. I guess we are a pretty interested – and interesting – group!
BOLLI members at the Wang Center.
Jennifer and Marsha hope that the positive response continues and that both new and repeat excursions will be held. The key is to attract new members to the SIG – and to encourage both existing and new members to plan additional activities. Already, many more trips are being planned for the rest of 2024.
Finally, on a personal note, I have participated in quite a few of the excursions and have enjoyed them immensely. Each one has been a fine combination of getting out into Boston and the surrounding area, visiting cultural sites I may not have seen before, going on expert “backstage” tours and getting to meet and know better a bunch of very active BOLLI members.
Any member who is interested in participating in future activities should write to Marsha (mhsemuels@gmail.com) to be added to the email distribution list. And please check out the Arts and Culture Excursion SIG website for lots of information about each event.