Arts This Week: J.M.W. Turner at the MFA, new lessons from the old master

Turner’s Modern World exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jared Bowen is the Emmy award-winning Executive Arts Editor and host of The Culture Show, a daily radio program and podcast at GBH exploring the creative process through a lively mix of local and national artist profiles, performances and exhibitions.

Jacob Garcia is a producer of digital content for the GBH News Arts & Culture team as well as Open Studio

March 31, 2022

Updated August 09, 2023

This week, GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discusses the work of British painter J.M.W. Turner and Terri Lyne Carrington's mission to find the Next Jazz Legacy.

Turner’s Modern World

On view at the Museum of Fine Arts through July 10

Over 100 pieces of art highlighting J.M.W. Turner's versatility are now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts. Turner captured the changing landscape of the industrial revolution. Unlike some notable painters of his time, Turner was regarded as a man of the people. "He didn't come from wealth and privilege, so he was very attuned to his world," Bowen says.

Turner's works depict historical shifts and the advancements of his time — from technology to the fight for political reform. "There were criticisms of the monarchy and abuses of government in power and privilege, and he rendered a lot of that in his paintings," Bowen says. "And so we see the arc of that social progressive notion of his in this show."

Venice The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore — Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore by Joseph Mallord William Turner.

Next Jazz Legacy

A new national apprenticeship program for women and non-binary improvisers in jazz.

Terri Lyne Carrington, a three-time Grammy award winning jazz musician, is on a mission to find a new musical prodigy and promote gender equity. The Next Jazz Legacy, a collaboration between New Music USA and Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, looks to end the gender disparity in jazz by highlighting the work of female and non-binary musicians. With the Grammys right around the corner, Bowen notes that "if you look at the jazz nominees, you'll see that it's a very male-dominated list." Bowen continues, "This is really taking a look at this huge gender problem in jazz and recognizing that it needs to change and it needs to change now."

Next Jazz Legacy's innaugural awardees will be given mentorship from jazz artists like Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding. The opportunity will give these emerging artists "a leg up to get into this industry," Bowen says. "I talked to two of the awardees who told me that all of the things they've had to suffer as women in the industry being told that women 'play softer than men' — that if you're in jazz, really, if you're a woman, you're supposed to be a singer and nothing more."

As Bowen acknowledges, Carrington is well aware of the added stress facing female and non-binary musicians and hopes the program can work to allow these musicians to enjoy their instruments peace.