Kendall Square: Global Arts Live Opens New Performing Arts Center
The nonprofit opens The Platform, a three-story venue in a biotech building, with a free public day and plans for 100 annual shows.
By Talia Bennett ·
Global Arts Live has performed in Boston theaters for more than three decades. This weekend, the organization opens its first permanent home.
The venue, called The Platform, is a 45,000-square-foot, three-story performing arts center located in Kendall Square. It opens to the public for free on Saturday. The building houses the 404-seat Takeda Theater, named for the project's lead sponsor, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. The space also includes a 125-seat cabaret stage, two bars, a cafe, and a rehearsal studio.
Maure Aronson, who founded the organization as World Music in 1990, said the theater size was chosen intentionally. She noted that midsize theaters have been lacking in Boston. Aronson stated that 400 seats is the right size for many artists to draw an audience.
BioMed Realty, the building's developer, began discussions with Global Arts Live in late 2020. The nonprofit will operate the theater inside a biotech research building. Aronson described the pairing as a unique and challenging approach. She said the building brings pharmaceutical research and artistic creation side by side. Takeda will occupy the floors above the performing arts center.
Connie C. Chin, CEO of Global Arts Live and The Platform, said the center addresses a need for rehearsal and performance space. The ground-floor commons is designed as a gathering space open to the community. Chin described the area as an urban living room meant to welcome everyone. Backstage, the venue features dressing rooms, makeup tables, showers, and wardrobe rooms on the second and third floors.
The organization plans to present about 100 nights of programming annually. It will also offer roughly 200 additional nights to artists and art organizations at subsidized rental rates. Chin said fundraising helps keep these rates low. The nonprofit is also providing 25 free rental nights to the community.
The building's facade features about 50 custom-designed tile colors in an ombre pattern that resembles a New England sunset. Vertical lines evoke a theater curtain. Melecio Estrella, artistic director of the dance company BANDALOOP, said the facade is the first theater-curtain design the company has danced with. Estrella stated that the company dances with the facade, not on it. BANDALOOP will perform pieces inspired by migration at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on opening day.
