RSM Art Gallery: "Boston in 100 words" Exhibit Opens March 22
March 16, 2022
Boston in 100 words
March 22-May 3, 2022
Author and Illustrator Talk and Opening Reception
Tuesday, March 22 at 5:00 p.m. in the RSM Art Gallery
The RSM Art Gallery at Bentley University is proud to present the illustrated posters of the winning stories from 2020 and 2021 "Boston in 100 words" contests. "Boston in 100 Words" is an annual community-based writing contest that invites anyone living, working, or attending school in Boston and some surrounding towns to write stories of 100 words or fewer that depict everyday life in their communities. A team of local, renowned writers select winning stories, which are made available to the public for free in the form of large, illustrated posters installed throughout the city. “Boston in 100 Words” seeks to impact the largest number of Bostonians possible, as authors and readers of original 100-word stories. To increase accessibility for the project "Boston in 100 words" has been translating the stories into some of the many languages spoken in Boston communities. Posters for the 2020 first place story "Freedom Trail" were printed in Spanish and English, while posters for the second-place story "Finding home in Chinatown" was printed Chinese and English. Participation in the contest is free to everyone.
"Boston in 100 Words" is modeled on a highly successful project, "Santiago in 100 Words", that has run annually in Santiago, Chile, since 2001. After years of success in Chile, the contest expanded to cities in Mexico, Colombia, Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Bentley faculty member and Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences, Jane De Leon Griffin founded the nonprofit Inspired Masses to bring the project to Boston, the first American city to become part of this transnational urban writing project. On March 22, at 5 pm, there will be a conversation and Q+A with some of the winning authors and illustrators who created the posters.
This year's Boston in 100 Words contest will begin accepting submissions on in late summer 2022.