Integral Arts Everett

Integral Arts Everett was a non-profit organization founded and run by Karyn Alzayer for the 4 years it was in existence, from 2019-2022.

Founded with the mission to cultivate and expand opportunities to engage with the arts for the citizens of Everett and surrounding communities, Integral Arts organized various community events, including an annual city-wide art scavenger hunt called the Everett Community Art Walk. With Alzayer at the helm, Integral Arts Everett was also instrumental in building a vibrant and connected arts community of artists, cultural workers, cross-sector creatives and community organizations.

From 2019-2022 Integral Arts Everett presented the Everett Community Art Walk, an engaging art adventure that showcased local artists and boosted traffic to local businesses. Each year, artwork was sprinkled all across the city in local businesses and community organizations, and visitors were invited to partake in a city-wide art scavenger hunt to explore the city and discover them all.

The Art Walk took place during the month of October from 2019-2022.

Website and Founding Statement

 
 

Highlights from Art Walks past

2019

Explore the map from 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Integral Arts Closing Statement from Alzayer

 
 

I started out with this work as one in a chorus of voices saying “someone should do something for the arts in Everett.” Then, I decided that maybe I should be the someone I was hoping for. I founded Integral Arts with the goal of fostering arts experiences, and I established the Everett Community Art Walk in 2019 in support of this mission. And though I’ve been laying this groundwork in Everett for arts support for three years now, it’s time for me to tend to a different garden, time for this chapter to close. 

Integral Arts will be closing at the end of this year and 2022 will be the final year for the Everett Community Art Walk.

I’m so proud to have had 4 lucky years to spend lifting up local artists and bringing this community together. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for going on this journey with me. I had no idea what this would blossom into when I dreamed of a  scavenger hunt art show back in 2018. That it would be so much more than just a single event or just an art show. That we would build an arts community together and that it would lift up artists and give community partners a vision for what more Everett could be. But Integral Arts required careful spinning of multiple plates, and passion alone can keep plates spinning only for so long. Without the capacity to hire employees to keep it all going, Integral Arts is not able to continue.

As I said in Integral Arts’ founding statement, I started all this based on the idea that arts build trust, which builds community. And I still believe that. A single wish on the Everett Wishing Wall bloomed into so much more. If you haven’t seen the Wishing Wall in a while, it’s a visual reminder of the blossoming of a community. It’s getting quite full of wishes!

I’m not sure what lies ahead for the future of arts for Everett. But I do hope that our community had a chance to see what kinds of arts things could be possible with a bit of optimism and elbow grease. I believe that our arts community is more than an organization, and that the closure of an organization cannot take away the community we have built together. And I have faith that this community will continue to thrive, even without Integral Arts.

Thank you for all your support over the years. Thank you for believing in the power of the arts. Nothing Integral Arts has accomplished would have been possible without YOU. Integral Arts might be closing, but the community endures and the mission will live on.

Onward in Love and Art,
Karyn Alzayer
President & Director
Integral Arts Everett

Everett Public Art Map

In 2022, Alzayer embarked on a project to map out and document all of the public art locations and kindness rock gardens across the city of Everett, MA.

Click on the map below and see photos of each of the entries with photos, and then go explore Everett to find them all!

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Everett Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Framingham Earth Day Participatory Fiber Mural

In April 2022, Alzayer invited participants of the Framingham Earth Day Festival to help build a participatory fiber mural.

Visitors were invited to choose a colored piece of fabric, yarn or string that speaks to them, set their intentions, and to tie it onto the backdrop panel in a section of the panel that corresponds to the color of the piece. Shades of green were added to the landmass portions of the map, shades of blue were added to the water portions of the map, shades of red/pink were added to the hearts, and all other colors were added to the border and areas around the earth drawing.

Throughout the day, the piece slowly filled up with colored pieces of fabric, string, ribbon, and other organic compostable natural fibers, with each one representing the intentions of the one who added it. The fabric pieces added by many hands would gradually shed organic threads over time to set intentions free.

The backdrop panel is 67” wide and 54” tall. After the festival, it was presented to Atac to keep and display.

This piece was commissioned by the Framingham Earth Day Festival.

 
 
 
 

Go Out Doors Medford

Alzayer was one of the featured artists for “Go Out Doors Medford,” an installation featuring painted doors installed in Dugger Park in Medford, MA. A total of 14 artists’ doors were on display from August through November 2021.

Alzayer’s door was designed as a participatory project, being initially installed as black and white designs. It was later taken down for a community coloring event and then reinstalled after being colored by many hands. 

Alzayer says, “I titled it Go Out Doors Together because I think after the year we’ve had, it’s important to do things together when we can. All of the motifs in my door are things you might see outside. I hope people have fun adding color and finishing my piece. I made it specifically for others to contribute. It’s vital that we not only Go Out Doors, it’s that we go out doors TOGETHER.”

 

Initial installation

 
 
 
 
 

Community coloring event 10/14/2021

 
 
 
 
 

Reinstalled after color

 
 
 
 

This piece is currently awaiting future events in which others can be invited to participate in adding more color. Contact the artist if you’d like to schedule a coloring event with Go Out Doors Together at your next outdoor event.

Who is your Government? A Coloring Book by Karyn Alzayer

Who Is Your Government? 
A Civics Coloring Book to Get to Know Your Government in Color

By Karyn Alzayer
Illustrated by Daud Alzayer, Karyn Alzayer, and Elizabeth Bush

In this 30-page downloadable print-it-yourself coloring book, author Karyn Alzayer invites you to learn the names and faces of those who are responsible for shaping policies in U.S. Government. Members of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government at both the federal and state levels are included, leading you to learn about the positions and people who shape our government. Also included are guides to voting and contacting your elected officials. 

This book shows elected and appointed officials from the 117th Congress. Elected and appointed officials can change at any time due to special elections, resignations, or other unforeseen events. All information contained in this edition is accurate and up to date as of October 2021.

An excerpt from the Introduction:

Democracy is a system of government in which governing legislators are chosen by the people. Since everyday citizens are the ones who make these election decisions, it is important to stay informed about who represents you, what they look like, how to contact them, and when upcoming elections are. These are people who work for us. 

Leaders for the three branches of government at the federal level and state level are included in this book. We invite you to learn their names and color them, and we hope this helps you to become a more engaged and knowledgeable citizen.

 
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2021 Beach Mandala Project

In May 2021, Alzayer hosted a participatory project on Revere Beach, as a continuation of an annual project started by a friend. 

Participants were invited to contribute by adding flowers, greenery, organic materials, found objects, shells, rocks, or drawings in the sand, and more. In an exercise in letting go, we all gathered to watch our creation be slowly washed away by the sea. 

Everett Kindness Rocks!

Welcome to Everett’s Kindness Rock Garden, a community space for kindness rocks! Located at the Tremont Street Community Garden at the corner of Tremont Street and Prescott Street in Everett, MA, this space invites anyone to spread kindness through sharing painted rocks. Anyone is encouraged contribute by taking, sharing, or painting their own rocks.

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The Everett Kindness Rock Garden was installed in May of 2021.

Many thanks to Everett Community Growers for lending their space for this project.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Everett Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

 
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Translations available:

 

español

 

“¡Bienvenido al Jardín de Rocas de Amistad de Everett, un espacio comunitario para rocas de amistad! Ubicado en el Tremont Street Community Garden en la esquina de Tremont Street y Prescott Street en Everett, MA, este espacio invita a cualquiera a difundir la bondad a través de compartir rocas pintadas. Cualquiera está animado a contribuir por tomar, compartir o pintar sus propias rocas.

El Jardín de Rocas de Amistad de Everett se instaló en mayo de 2021.

Muchas gracias a Everett Community Growers por prestar su espacio para este proyecto.

Este programa está financiado en parte por una beca del Consejo Cultural de Everett, una agencia local que cuenta con el apoyo deMass Cultural Council, una agencia estatal.

 

português

 

Bem-vindo ao Jardim de Pedras Carinhosas de Everett, um espaço comunitário para pedras carinhosas! Localizado na Horta Comunitária da Tremont Street, na esquina da Tremont Street e Prescott Street em Everett, MA, este espaço está aberto a qualquer pessoa que queira espalhar mensagens positivas por meio do compartilhamento de pedras pintadas. Todos são encorajados a contribuir pegando, compartilhando ou pintando suas próprias pedras.

O Everett Kindness Rock Garden foi instalado em maio de 2021.

Agradecemos ao Everett Community Growers por emprestar seu espaço para este projeto.

Este programa é apoiado em parte por uma doação do Conselho Cultural de Everett, uma agência local que é apoiada pelo Mass Cultural Council, uma agência estadual.

 

Arabic

 


مرحبًا بكم في حديقة Kindness Rock في Everett ، وهي مساحة مجتمعية للصخور التي تعبر عن اللطف في المعاملة!  تقع هذه المساحة في Tremont Street Community Garden عند زاوية شارع Tremont Street وشارع Prescott Street في Everett ، ماساتشوستس ، وهي تدعو أي شخص لنشر اللطف من خلال  تشجيع أي شخص على المساهمة من خلال أخذ الصخور او المشاركة بصخورهم الخاصة و الرسم عليها. 

تم تركيب Everett Kindness Rock Garden في مايو من عام 2021.

 شكراً جزيلاً لمزارعي Everett Community Growers لإعارة مساحتهم لهذا المشروع.

 يتم دعم هذا البرنامج جزئيًا بمنحة من مجلس إيفريت الثقافي ، وهي وكالة محلية يدعمها المجلس الثقافي بولاية ماساتشوستس، وهو وكالة حكومية.

 

Haitian Creole

 

Byenveni nan Jaden Wòch Jantiyès Everett la, yon espas kominotè pou wòch jantiyès! Sitiye nan Jadin kominotè ki nan kwen Tremont Street ak Prescott Street nan Everett, MA. Espas sa envite nenpòt moun ki gen jantiyès nan pataje wòch ki pentire. Nou ankouraje nenpòt moun kontribye nan pran, pataje, oswa pentire pwòp wòch pa yo.

Pwojè Everett Jaden Roch Jantiyèsn la te etabli nan mwa Me 2021.

Mèsi anpil a Everett Community Growers pou espas yo prete nou pou pwojè sa.

Pwogram sa sipòte an pati pa yon sibvansyon ki soti nan Everett Cultural Council, yon ajans lokal ki te sipòte pa Mass Cultural Council, yon ajans leta.