Description

The Jar fosters dialogue and connection among diverse Boston communities, addressing social isolation, segregation, and loneliness. Using arts and culture to inspire individuals to develop relationships with others “who may not look, pray, love, or earn like them,” The Jar employs a novel model of convening to build community across differences. There are no single tickets. Instead, a ticket buyer assembles a group of six to attend, including “usuals” (people with whom the ticket buyer typically experiences culture), and “unusuals” (people who are different from the ticket buyer). A typical evening at The Jar starts with a meet and greet, followed by an artistic offering, including comedy, theatre, music, or poetry. The audience is then led in a facilitated mixer, drawing on the questions and themes in the art to build connections with each other, in an effort “to reduce polarization, enhance civic engagement, and create a new kind of art-centered spiritual home.”