Harsh Is Truth

"Harsh Is Truth" is an original performance by Masary Studios. Co-presented by Old South Meeting House and the National Parks of Boston This multi-media performance by Boston-based collective Masary Studios poses the questions: How is truth defined, and how do different perceptions of truth converge in public spaces? Live, original music fused with video projections will highlight Old South Meeting House’s unique history as a place to rise, resist, and share one’s personal truth. Responses to questions about truth, action, and change – stories, poems, and phrases sourced from recent visitors on Boston’s Freedom and Black Heritage trails – will be featured in the performance.

Visitors can explore the transformed space at 6:30 pm, with the performance from 7:00-7:45 pm. After the performance, talk with Masary Studios artists, National Park Service representatives, museum staff, and other audience members on the competing truths that have built our nation and will shape our future. This performance’s title is inspired by a phrase featured in the Old South Meeting House exhibition Voices of Protest: William Lloyd Garrison’s promise to be “harsh as truth” in the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. Art on the Trails to Freedom, a collaborative project between New England Foundation for the Arts and the National Park Service, invites artists to create public art installations that explore historical themes and activate select locations on Boston’s Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail.

This program is made possible with support from the National Parks of Boston "Art on the Trails to Freedom" initiative, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Lowell Institute. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, registration requested at http://osmhnov16-17.bpt.me