Katherine's painting school is THE hidden gem of Somerville. Katherine hosts a small group of…read morestudents on weekday evenings and on Saturdays (scheduling is flexible) and, in just two hours per week, effectively spreads the message that passion and expression exist within you and can flourish if you're given the right tools. I approached the painting school as a self-proclaimed "left brain" with "no painting skills and no creativity," grudgingly committed to devoting some time to expression on a weekly basis. From the minute I set foot in my first class, I fell in love with both the charm of the room--the cozy top floor of a home in a classic Somerville neighborhood--and the warmth of my classmates, all strangers but many of whom have quickly become my friends. The best part of the painting school is that we all have the freedom to be ourselves, and to be excellent at it. Whether or not you consider yourself a "painter" at first, within a matter of time, Katherine will help you understand that you CAN make a picture come to life, learning is EASY, and our creations are BEAUTIFUL because they are born from patience and self-love. It's impossible not to believe in yourself when you pour energy into a painting from week to week and inevitably watch it come to life. Katherine injects positive energy into every class and was clearly made to be a teacher. I've never felt confident as an artist, but learning to paint (or, rather, that I could already paint!) with Katherine's guidance has done wonders for my overall state of mind. I highly recommend this school for anyone even remotely interested in dabbling in painting, no matter how seriously you want to explore it. You will learn new techniques and ways to approach the painting process, and if you join with an open mind, I promise you will become more in touch with the part of yourself that's been yearning to create.

I just completed my second term and Katherine was amazing, once again! This term, summer, is…read morecondensed into 6 weeks, but because I am moving out of the state, Katherine did all she could to help me start and finish my painting in 3 weeks. The painting was a gift to my sister and not only did the recipient love her gift from me, I loved the gift that Katherine gave me. She helped me to understand that time is precious and if it is spent wisely, any goal could be accomplished. If you are even considering taking a painting class, I would give this school a chance. It will change your view on your own creativity and your view on what it means to teach. Katherine is a gem! She, and her school, cannot be replicated or duplicated. I am sad that I will probably not be able to find anything like them where I am moving. Oh, and the ice cream breaks in the summer aren't so bad either.

NEMPAC is a wonderful organization that imparts quality music education to children and adults…read more They also provide successful music performing events throughout the year. They are a great treasure for the North End and surrounding communities in Boston. I absolutely recommend them!

From the owner: Our Mission The…read moreNorth End Music & Performing Arts Center is a 501C3 community arts organization that enriches Boston's North End Waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods by enriching lives through quality, accessible music education and performing arts programs.

Emerson was in my top two, with Hampshire College in Amherst being my #1 top choice. I auditioned…read morefor Emerson's Theater Program (they held auditions in my hometown of NYC) got accepted, and then spent a weekend on campus in Boston, stayed on campus, ate in the dining hall, sat in on some Friday and Monday classes, had my admissions office interview and left campus. I TOTALLY fell in love with Emerson and could easily have gone there (it was like a smaller, friendlier version of NYU). It was a tough choice for me actually (I agonized over it) to have to choose between the two schools. Being from NYC, I chose Hampshire over Emerson ONLY because I wanted a smaller more rural campus experience for my undergraduate education (trading NYC for Boston wasn't a fit for me at the time) chances are, now today, I would probably choose Emerson. In every OTHER way, Emerson ticked ALL the boxes for me. In fact, in certain aspects, I wish I had gone to Emerson instead of Hampshire (because Emerson did have a LOT to offer me), because of the fact that Emerson had better options to study in places other than Boston, and Hampshire didn't (Emerson also has better facilities for Theater & Film than Hampshire does) BUT, it wasn't as academically experimental at Emerson, and I wouldn't have learned as much from getting grades as I did from detailed evaluations, but I would have been more creatively fulfilled at Emerson overall, because of the urban, artistic environment that Boston would have offered. Emerson had accepted me, and I was about to accept and enroll and become an Emersonian because I hadn't heard back from Hampshire (and I had worked pretty hard to get into Emerson) yet. Lo and behold, Hampshire then sent me my acceptance letter (hey, this was back in the early 90's) so I turned Emerson down. It was a tough, tough choice because although the two schools are radically different, they attract a LOT of the same kinds of students: artsy, quirky, creative, intellectual and independent. That's what made the choice SO difficult for me. The TOUGHEST choice I made in my undergraduate college career.

For my 100th review I am going to review my lovely Emerson College…read more I will admit, my first semester at Emerson I thought I was going to transfer to NYU. Then my sophomore year I thought I might transfer to school in London and actually I am sure I had lots of other plans to escape in the works, but each time I was convinced to stay -- and now I look back at Emerson and don't wish I had spent my undergrad anywhere else. I love Emerson because the students are PASSIONATE about what they want to do in life! If you enter as a freshman at Emerson as Undeclared you are an an outcast. This sounds strange but I LOVED that everyone knew what they wanted to do and was driven towards getting there. As a freshman you can dive right in and start working on films, writing for one of the school magazines or preforming in a comedy troupe. Then by your senior year you have tons of expereince for your resume. Emerson kids like to be involved 24/7. Then Emerson kids actually get a job in the field they studied! I went to Emerson for Marketing and Publishing and minored in Entrepreneurship, Photography and Management. Now I started my own publishing company and do all the marketing :) All my friends who majored in Film or TV are out in LA working as PA's or editors, my marketing friends are account managers etc. etc. It can be tricky to make friends at Emerson, because it is a campus in the city and everyone is involved in projects all the time. But get involved with a project and all of a sudden you have 10 new friends. The location is great because its right in the middle of downtown on the park which is perfect in the spring and fall. Its so nice to be in the middle of the city but have lots of green near by :) Its also easily accessible to Chinatown, Downtown, Financial District, Theater District, South End, Beacon Hill, North End etc. *I must admit that I know go back and sit on those Almuni panels that talk about how great Emerson is, I just liked it that much :) On a side note I love how Emersonians are fashionable people and dress for class! This is not one of those campuses where you go to class in a sweatshirt and pj pants. Since most Emersonians are style mavens or heading to their internship after class, its like a walking fashion show of hipster attire down Boylston. In fact, Boston magazine named the corner of Boylston and Tremont one of the most fashionable and attractive corners in Boston thanks to Emerson students!

This school continues to impress. They have really great drawing classes, painting classes, and…read moreworkshops. Whether you are a beginning artist or a professional artist, they can help you achieve your goals!

Best place I've ever went to commint to drawing. Cindy is the best teacher I know. Everyone learns…read moreon a different place so it doesn't seem like your slow.

Please READ - THIS GIVES HONEST AND EXPERIENCE IF U ARE THINKING OF GOING HERE…read more HOLY LET ME START! THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF U ARE LOW INCOME MONEY LIKE ME AND NEEDED COMMUNITY TO TRANSFER or TRY COLLEGE. This was the worst experience of my life and I respect community College so much. I give credit where credit is due and the only thing I can say is at least they kept most places of the building clean. I started community because I needed to go to school but I originally was gonna transfer and my guidance counselor told me to transfer from community cause it was "easier", personally not my case but it does depend on per person. I want to also say I do have anxiety disorder and speech. And severe ocd. I am diagnosed since I was a child. I do take medications. So I was prepared for anything or so I THOUGHT. the first day of school for me WAS awful which I should've seen coming. I was already anxious kid but when I walked in the staff completely ignored me - but I gave it okay because my parent is a teacher I totally understand the stress it was crowded mildly. I asked a question and finally someone told me the direction turns out he took me to the wrong area - then they asked another person who told me to go to point b and IT WAS THE WRONG AREA. getting lost was okay because I knew college was gonna be like that. After I finally founded my orientation station the guy was so RUDE AND MEAN! I tried making small talk like hellow happy first day and he was like yeah not happy for me. Like OK so sorry to bear that and he asked me to sign up for my personal email thing and I was having trouble and basically when I told him he said what are u deaf and took my computer and did it for me but my lord is was so unwelcoming. So I went home with a pit in my stomach. I gave it THREE weeks before I quit and left. Basically when I picked for classes at the meeting class thing. THEY WERE SO UNHELPFUL - first off these grown as women were in front of me acting all high and mighty like ma'am ur 30 I'm 19 please don't act like u weren't 19 before and didn't know anything. Anytime someone asked a question they would snicker and the staff would see and laugh a little TOO!??! LIKE WHAT. THEN they messed up my schedule I told them my major but they didn't tell me I needed to take a math and English they just gave me a few art classes and told me I'm good. Then for finial aid I had no idea about this fee for and the girl there was like well I did mine last year so I can't really help u. Like SCREE U AND FREAK OFF UR THE FREAKING STAFF WHAT RHE FREAK. then my classes started after I managed to get fixed. And let me tell u OMG! u will be lucky if u find some good professors I only found one out of six classes who was SUCH AN AMAZING GUY. HE REALLY CARED ABOUT WHAT HE TAUGHT. my math professor kept yapping about her alcoholic issues and my graphic professor would just assign us stuff and not really teach. I know people say community College is bad and I just want to preference by saying that is not TRUE. there are so many community colleges that are so caring and actually care about education. This however is NOT IT! they were super unwelcoming, you only get stuff done if u literally dominate them. And honestly I know in my classes the way the interactions was so weird like I don't know if some students aka grown ass people and teachers acting like this is high-school. This one girl didn't have a chromebook and this grown ass teacher was like what u can't afford it? Like sir no she can't so what, u can HELP HER?!?! MAKING HER FEEL BAD FOR WHAT??! I excepted some maturity because highschool was the worst but whew i was clearly wrong. Im now in a art college waiting to transfer to a art uni so it worked out for me. Moral of the story honestly NO PLEASE GO TO A DIFFERENT COMMU ITY COLLEGE LIKE NORTSHORE OR SOMETHING. THIS school is so unprofessional. I hope they change and make it better for people who have to go here becahse everyone deserves an education!​​

The application and applying process is so confusing and sucks. Every time I try to reach someone…read morefor help I get no response and then miss the deadline. It's seriously incredibly disheartening because Bunker Hill seemed like a great option but now I'm not sure

I've lived in the South End for about a year now and haven't done nearly as much exploring as I had…read morehoped to (school, always getting in the way!). So last weekend, boyfriend and I decided to stroll down Harrison to find Gaslight and get to know the neighborhood better. We passed Ars Libri and I was drawn to the stacks of books inside. Typically when stores have doorbells, you ring them...so we did. Soon after, a man let us in and left us to explore without giving us a snooty attitude just because we're on the young end of the spectrum--something I've encountered in many snobby art bookstores before. Before I could comprehend where I was, I noticed a large table amid the stacks with open bottles of wine so that, presumably, you could sit and sip on something as you read. Sweet, I thought. And then I realized that I had found the holy grail. Most people like art, so an art bookstore would be a cool thing to find. But as an art history major who is minoring in museum studies, the realization that the place was solely dedicated to books on art, ethnography, and architecture led me to hold in the loudest squeal that would have ever left my lips. I flitted from bookshelf to bookshelf, seeing titles that I had read excerpts from for school before but had never been able to hold in my hands. I was in heaven. The store is impeccably organized, and the selection is amazing. I didn't speak much to the shopkeep, who I understand is a book dealer, but I imagine that he could find anything you might ever be looking for. And depending on what you're looking for, the book prices are actually pretty reasonable; there were a couple of out of print titles that I had been stalking on Amazon for upwards of $50 that were for sale at Ars Libri for less than $30. Not bad at all, especially considering the fine quality and excellent condition they were in. I highly recommend this bookstore for any lover of books or art, or anyone looking to expand their horizons a bit. The space is beautiful and light, a soothing respite from the bustling city. I will most definitely be returning and hope to gradually fill my bookshelves up with the phenomenal wares this store has to offer.

An excellent dealer in fine and rare used books primarily in the fine arts…read more Ars Libri is located in an unassuming storefront on a quiet part of Harrison Ave. Stumbling upon it one Saturday morning I couldn't tell if it was even open to the public. I tried the door, and finding it locked, began to walk away. Just then a gentleman popped his head out and asked if he could help me. I was just passing by and curious, I said. "Are you open?" "In a few minutes," he said. "Come on in." Inside it felt more like the back room of a museum or a fine library. Historic and arcane books in all manner of languages lined the shelves of aisle after aisle, ranging from small manuscripts to huge leather-bound catalogues. Along one side, the owner sat at his desk, making deals on the telephone with other dealers of rare and delicate volumes as I just walked the aisles in some awe, occasionally daring to remove and inspect a book here and there when I wasn't afraid I'd somehow ruin a treasured artifact. I have to admit, the whole place was a little bit intimidating, and I felt a little, well, unqualified to be there. The cheapest of books here are not at all cheap, and the low-key display and location made it feel almost as if I should have had an appointment to be there. But he let me in, so I tried not to let it bother me. If you're like me and your heart rate picks up a little when surrounded by mysterious, intriguing old books, or if you're just passionate about the fine arts and want to see some books on the subject that you probably won't find in may other places, it's worth hunting this place out and having a careful look around.

Beautiful gallery. Had a lovely time with the staff, they are very welcoming & knowledgeable…read more Amazing collection of art- Picasso and Dali originals + really great contemporary art too. - Sophie M

Wonderful small gallery with amazing original art from many of the masters. The staff was terrific…read moreat describing the pieces. All in all a very enjoyable experience. There is no charge for entering the gallery.

Great teachers, great environment, a wonderful place to learn. Recommend 10/10!! Best art classes…read moreI've taken in Boston

Amazing Delicious Thank you Great service Tuesday offer…read moreis great too Recommended