I have mixed feelings about the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. You may have seen all the press that it received when the new building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, opened last winter. Most photos of it are from the water, like the one above, where the cantilevered upper floors and canted sculptural media center are shown to their best advantage. Unfortunately it has a dreadful, blank, street presence; it’s pushed far back from the road, beyond a seemingly endless asphalt parking lot.

Shortly after it opened, I visited the museum with some fellow architects. As we toured the various exhibit spaces, we enjoyed bandying about stream-of-conscious criticism. We stopped sniping though when we stepped into the digital media center. It’s the space with computer stations serving stadium-style seating that projects below the cantilever and culminates in an enormous glass window, canted downward to frame a spectacular view of the water, not the shoreline. It was exhilarating. Later, in search of the restrooms we stumbled upon the Founders Gallery at the north end of the fourth floor exhibit space that runs the width of the building with a glass wall in the long dimension parallel to the water view. There you can stand above the water and take in the stunning panorama, as if the museum is merely setting the stage for the real show, the art of the contemporary cityscape.

But I digress. I went to the ICA most recently to tour their Design Life Now exhibit which was organized by the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum and runs through January 6, 2008. Upon entering the exhibit, wall graphics proclaim, “This survey of design in the U.S. presents the best work from 2003-2006.” Really?

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On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending this diverse arts event housed in the adapted, historic, masonry warehouses of Boston’s Fort Point arts district. I’d never been before and was delighted by the chance to browse through all manner of artwork in some exquisite loft studios. Many were drenched with light, bordered by old brick, and topped with exposed rough-hewn wood beams, making the event as much a self-guided architectural tour as an arts happening.

My time was limited, so I only touched on a few of the many offerings, but several caught my eye. I decided with my fellow tour companions to explore a large venue first, 249 A Street. There we found book artist Laura Davidson in a sunny spot with an eclectic display of her one-of-a-kind and limited edition books. Her Fenway Park “tunnel book” was a highlight. It’s a small, hand-assembled presentation of layered, pictorial pages that create a nostalgic, diorama-like view of the stadium and Boston skyline. (Her timing couldn't be better.) Paper mosaics titled the “Antiquities Series” likewise reveal her careful craftsmanship and taste for the muted tones we associate with the patina of age. Her work deftly manipulates paper to great three-dimensional effect.

In the same building, we also discovered photographer Don Eyles whose

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Recommended upcoming New England happenings

RISD alumni + student art sale (Benefit Street between Waterman and Hopkins Street in Providence, RI) Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007 10:00 a.m.-4p.m. Free and open to the public.

Martha’s Vineyard Annual Harvest, a celebration of sea, farm, and vine (Edgartown, MA) Oct. 12-14, 2007. The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is the primary charitable affiliation of this nonprofit event from the Edgartown Board of Trade.

Samuel McIntire, Carving an American Style exhibiting work of the Master Craftsman and Architect (1757-1811) at the Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA) Oct. 13, 2007–Feb. 24, 2008. Free walking tour of the McIntire Historic District, featuring houses from the Federal era (Salem, MA) Saturday, Oct. 13 11:00 a.m. and Sunday Oct. 14 1:00 p.m. with advance reservations by Oct. 11, 2007

Recommended upcoming New England arts events

14^th Annual Cambridgeport Artists Open Studios (Cambridge, MA) Sept. 8-9, 2007

2^nd Annual Pawtucket Open Studios Arts and Design Showcase (Pawtucket, RI) Sept. 7-9, 2007

Country Roads Artists and Artisans Tour (Midcoast Maine) Sept. 14-17, 2007

South End Open Artists Studios (Boston, MA) Sept. 15-16, 2007

14^th Annual Jamaica Plain Open Studios (Boston, MA) Sept. 29-30, 2007

Artspace’s 10^th Annual City-Wide Open Studios (New Haven, CT) Oct. 9-28, 2007

Fort Point Open Studios (Boston, MA) Oct.19-21, 2007

Recommended upcoming New England film festivals

Woods Hole Film Festival (Woods Hole, MA) July 28-August 4, 2007 www.woodsholefilmfestival.org/

Rhode Island International Film Festival (Providence, RI) August 7-12, 2007 www.film-festival.org/

Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival (Vineyard Haven, MA) Sept. 13-16, 2007 www.mvfilmfest.com/

Newburyport Documentary Film Festival (Newburyport, MA) Sept. 28-30, 2007 www.newburyportfilmfestival.org/

Camden International Film Festival (documentary films shown in Camden, Rockport, and Rockland, ME) Sept. 27-30, 2007 www.camdenfilmfest.org/