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Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Meet Pierre Terjanian, the sword and shield expert who's leading the MFA into a new era
But even in his short tenure Terjanian had already become a favorite among the staff, and was encouraged by the board to apply for the top spot. He quickly became the clear front-runner, and on his first day on the job, received a standing ovation from the museum's employees. Now Terjanian must lead the storied museum through a crucial moment, with the arts increasingly under attack and federal funding cuts upending the stability of institutions across the country. An expert in the field of arms and armor, Terjanian said his lifetime of scholarship has taught him a lot that might help along the way. Related : Advertisement 'It certainly taught me about resilience,' he said. 'This is an important moment. There's a lot that is at stake.' But also, Terjanian said in a Bold Types interview with the Globe's Janelle Nanos, his decade of experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will inform how he navigates the way forward here in Boston. As co-chair of a task force handling reopening the New York City museum after COVID, he said he was forced to rethink how institutions operate and how they can work together to share resources. A similar mindset is needed now, he said. Advertisement 'Institutions were struggling with a number of operational issues, but also more existential ones,' he said. 'No one knew what the future looked like.' This led to unprecedented collaboration between small and large institutions, something the current challenges may call for as well. 'This is a moment, really, to think about how together we can address the needs of our time.' Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has a new director, a French arms and armor expert named Pierre Terjanian. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/David L Ryan, Globe Staff Top of mind for Terjanian is how to refresh the MFA's approach to its permanent collection in a way that creates more 'points of entry' for guests. The museum, he said, can do more to explore the 'emotions behind the objects,' both in how they were created and how they were received, in order 'generate a broader invitation to engage with the art.' But that invitation, he said, has to go both ways. If Malcolm Rogers was known for expanding the physical footprint of the museum with its Art of the Americas wing, and Teitelbaum expanded the MFA's efforts to reach more diverse audiences, Terjanian said he hopes to expand the MFA's presence beyond its walls and into Boston's neighborhoods. 'We need to work with community leaders of peer organizations,' he said, to both support their work and find ways to collaborate. He speculated that might look like loaning objects in the museum's collections, co-hosting programming with smaller arts venues, or sponsoring performances that take place far from Huntington Avenue. It also means finding new ways to make the MFA more accessible and affordable to all. This fall, he said, the museum will announce an expansion of its occasional '$5 after 5″ p.m. program every third Thursday of the month. And the first year of the Boston Family Days program, he added, has shown how to bring in more residents from all corners of the city. He's hoping to build on the programs' successes. Advertisement Wandering the galleries one recent Thursday morning, Terjanian stopped to marvel at a One can imagine the soft-spoken Terjanian using a similar leadership approach. When museums like the Smithsonian are taking proactive measures to avoid attracting conflict — artist Amy Sherald recently 'We obviously want to be in compliance with all existing laws. But we always go back to our mission,' he said. 'And our mission is to be a place that engages by ideas with the richness of the human experience across cultures, across continents, recognizing that both communities and individuals have made contributions that we should want to celebrate.' Now more than ever, he said, he wants to stress the importance that museums should play in civic life. They are a 'place for reflection, for self-examination, for perspective-taking, for dialogue, for inspiration,' he said. 'We can provide a backdrop of thousands of years of human experience. And I think it's a resource.' Advertisement "Appeal to the Great Spirit," outside the front entrance of the Museum of Fine Arts. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
Boston Globe
02-08-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
For Boston Foundation's Lee Pelton, now is the time to make an impact
It's made Pelton's portfolio that much more challenging too. With $1.7 billion in assets, The Boston Foundation is a multifaceted organization, Pelton told the Globe in a recent Bold Types interview with reporter Janelle Nanos, and it's using all its tools to 'meet the moment.' In the last several months, the Foundation has 'We're different than most foundations in the breadth of what we do,' he said. 'Grantmaking is a part of what we do, but it's only a tiny fraction. We convene, we bring people together. We advocate, and we spend a lot of time in the community meeting community needs and listening to the community.' Advertisement And among the most urgent crises, he said, has been responding to the needs of community organizations experiencing a pullback in funding for emergency food benefits. Advertisement 'I'm appalled at this mean-spirited federal administration that would deprive hungry people of food by cutting their access or diminishing their access,' Pelton said. To respond, the Foundation raised $1 million from donors to support the Greater Boston Food Bank. An additional $500,000 will be awarded to other local and regional food organizations. Lee Pelton in 2021, when he took the top job at The Boston Foundation. Erin Clark/Globe Staff 'The secret sauce for us is that we're able — our community is able — to catalyze additional dollars" quickly to respond to urgent needs, Pelton said. 'Our hope is that our community will contribute even more.' The Boston Foundation also conducts research on issues critical to Boston's future, and uses those findings to inform its advocacy and grantmaking. 'An important aspect of the Boston Foundation is this wonderful research center called One striking example, he said, was the foundation's work on the housing crisis. As Boston Indicators has been 'We're working with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership on a down payment assistance program that will help families who might not otherwise be able to afford to actually get into [homes],' he said. 'If we invest $25 million in the down payment assistance program for 500 families, we can create [between] $155 to $170 million of asset growth equity over the next ten years. And that's wealth that's not only for those individuals and families, but it's intergenerational because it will be passed on.' Advertisement Pelton says the legacy of the Foundation has been being there for Bostonians at critical moments and helping them improve their status in life. But it's also about helping neighborhoods move forward too. Standing outside the Bruce C. Bolling Building in Nubian Square, Pelton recalled arriving in Boston from Kansas nearly 50 years ago to attend graduate school at Harvard University. During the summer, he used to take the Number 1 bus from Cambridge to work in a coat factory in Roxbury. As he wandered the neighborhood one recent afternoon, he marveled at the changes underway, and said he's proud of the work the Foundation is doing to support a renaissance there. Lee Pelton spoke on stage at the Mass Black Expo 2023: Building Black Wealth in the Commonwealth. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff 'I could not have imagined, first of all, that I would be back here as the president and CEO of the Boston Foundation,' he said, grinning. Pelton pointed around the square at various projects sprouting up: The Jazz Urbane nightclub is under construction. The Franklin Cummings Tech Center is moving in nearby, relocating its campus from the South End. The Haley House Bakery Cafe is reopening soon with affordable housing units stacked above it. He said the Foundation will have a hand in supporting each of these endeavors. 'To come here and help revitalize this very important part of Boston,' was a personal mission for him, Pelton said, but one that couldn't have happened without the resources of the Foundation. 'The important thing to remember, we're in the center of Boston,' he said. 'Symbolically it is, I think enormously important.' After Pelton earned his PhD at Harvard, he went into academia and eventually climbed to serve for a decade as president of Emerson College. That experience offered him unique insight into the challenges his alma mater is facing today, he said. Advertisement 'Alan Garber has been just absolutely heroic. The way in which he has stood up and spoken out against this, really outrageous, mean-spirited actions that the federal administration has taken against higher education,' he said. 'This is a time to be strong. This is the time to speak out and to speak up. And for those presidents and those institutions that don't, shame on them.' Assessing the gauntlet of challenges facing the city, Pelton believes the Foundation can use its levers to help navigate the uncertainty. 'We've had other moments in our history that were really challenging. And this is one of them,' he said. 'I have great faith in this city. I have great faith in the people who live in this city.' It may take a while for uncertainty to subside, he said. 'But it won't be forever,' he continued. 'And of course we'll be stronger for it.' Janelle Nanos can be reached at
Boston Globe
11-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Amina Bulman, the business chief for Boston's new professional women's soccer club, is helping build a dream team
Bulman, too, will need a diverse set of tools in her new role with the fledgling soccer club. As Boston Legacy's chief revenue officer, she's the one overseeing the club's revenue streams, its business and commercial partnerships, its branding and marketing, and all ticketing and guest experience elements. She's also fully aware of the political, um, football she's been handed and that she's working with a club that has already seen its share of controversy: Its that fell flat and a And a $200 million redo of White Stadium — with costs split between the city and club ownership — has been contentious enough to become an issue in this fall's mayoral campaign. Advertisement But Bulman is bullish about Boston Legacy's brand and about the rise of women's sports in general, and in a recent Bold Types interview with Globe business reporter Janelle Nanos, she explained why she believes she has the credentials to meet the moment. Advertisement Bulman came back to Boston after five years with the NFL's Washington Commanders, a franchise which The founders the Boston Legacy FC soccer team at an event last weekend unveiling the club's new logo. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff 'For me this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' Bulman said. 'The chance to build a new club in women's sports in my hometown was just a chance I couldn't pass up.' Bulman grew up in Boston and got her MBA from Harvard. She knows firsthand what sports means here, as a fan and a competitor alike — she's run the Boston marathon three times and raced 10 times in the Head of the Charles. And while she acknowledges that professional women's soccer teams have tried — and failed — to launch here before, she argues that we're in a new era. 'As we like to say in women's sports, it's more than a moment, it's a movement,' Bulman said. 'There's obviously such a strong sports culture already, and Boston actually has the highest rate in the country of youth participation in soccer.' Advertisement Then there's the World Cup coming to town next summer, during Boston Legacy's inaugural season. 'I think the city is ready,' she said. 'And what we're hearing from our fans is that they're so excited to see this club take the pitch in 2026.' Of course, that pitch they first take won't actually be the one Bulman visited in Franklin Park — not yet at least. Lawsuits against the project have slowed construction timelines, enough that the Legacy will start their 'These athletes deserve their own stadium,' she said. 'They're world-class athletes. Not one's asking why the Patriots can't play at a college field. This is a sport that deserves investment, and we're hearing that from fans and partners that it's time for female athletes to get the resources they need.' A demolition crew at White Stadium earlier this year. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Bulman and the club's supporters — including Mayor Michelle Wu, who has committed $100 million in city funds to White Stadium — say the facilities will benefit the city's student-athletes as well. Boston Public Schools teams from a dozen sports will use the 11,000-seat, all-electric building far more days than the Legacy will, she notes. And The Grove, an adjacent 2,500-seat venue with a full-service restaurant, will be available to the public every day of the year for events, concerts, farmer's markets, and movie nights. 'We really feel like it's the jewel in the jewel box that is White Stadium,' she said. But before the stadium, Bulman has a brand to build. Advertisement And this week she 'Swans are loyal, they're fierce, and they're determined, and they have this wonderful mix of grace and grit that we think is really core to women's sports and part of what we want our club to embody,' Bulman said. And it could be a fitting metaphor too, as Bulman works help this fledgling team take flight. Janelle Nanos can be reached at
