Shaumba Yandje Dibinga is one of many performance arts trailblazers in the city of Boston.
For the last 25 years, Dibinga has been the founding artistic director of OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center and has dedicated her life to filling a void in the art sector she felt was missing in children’s arts programs.
As the daughter of Congo refugees, lessons in African tradition and culture were heavily ingrained in Dibinga and her eight siblings. Growing up, they faced bullying in school and found it tough to fit in.
Dibinga sought arts programs to channel her creativity, but couldn’t find any where children could have a “safe haven” to be themselves, build self-esteem and learn about African history for an affordable price.
“Dance studios like this is a healing place for young people. Dance is a tool to help communicate their frustrations,” Dibinga said. “We have young people who’ve thought about suicide, are depressed, are dealing with bullying. All they want to do is let off steam and have someone there to listen to them. These kids go through a lot.”
Every year, OrigiNation teaches youth between ages 2 and 18, serving close to 300 students on-site, and an additional 4,500 through their off-site programs. When the news broke that Central Square’s Green Street Studios was closing down on Oct. 27 after 28 years in operation due to a significant rent hike, it concerned Dibinga. She knows firsthand the harsh realities of rent costs.
Her dance studio has been located in Jamaica Plain for the last six years. Before that, the studio was located in different places all over the city. “Boston is expensive. It took us a long time for us to find a location that was affordable and easy for our families to get to. Boston is busy and construction is going up everywhere,” she said. “Some of our alumni don’t only teach at OrigiNation, they go right to Green Street. They rent out the studio and people flood to take those classes. We collaborate with Green Street to be able to do performances. Artists are being pushed out of spaces they should be welcomed in.”
According to a 2019 ArtsBoston report, investing in the arts, drives economic growth, attracts a young and talented workforce, and makes the city an attractive destination for visitors across the world. Despite the city’s reputation for providing world-class art institutions, it falls short in prioritizing investments in smaller organizations.
Dibinga remembers how difficult it was to apply for funding. “The list of questions were so long and detailed,” she said. “It’s challenging, the deadlines, the information they need, whether your budget is high or low enough to apply for a specific grant. And there are a lot of nonprofits reaching out for those same grants. I’m grateful for the grants we’ve received throughout the years, but we have to be creative in how we raise money when the funding isn’t enough.”
For the first few years, Dibinga worked a full-time job while teaching dance classes in order to pay her staff and keep the doors open. The classes are intentionally priced well below market value, a sacrifice worth making so children could afford to participate.
Shamari Ervin, 26, is an alumna of OrigiNation. She’s taken dance classes with Dibinga since she was 8. Ervin says the program helped her stay focused and out of trouble while she was attending Boston Arts Academy. “Dance is just like any other sport like basketball and football. It keeps kids off the streets. It keeps us motivated,” Ervin said. “OrigiNation has helped us get scholarships for college. This dance studio is a place of comfort. I would be devastated if a place like this were to close down.”
A study by the Boston Foundation states that Boston struggles with high facilities costs, rapid developments and stakeholders such as foundations and government funders who have been missing from the field.
This is what led Mayor Marty Walsh to launch Boston Creates in 2015, an ambitious 10-year cultural plan to “align public and private resources to strengthen cultural vitality” in Boston to the tune of more than $1 million in new arts funding.
“The Arts and Culture department provides several resources including our Artists Resource Desk where we offer office hours for artists as well as newsletters and a Metrolist to update them about available spaces,” said Kristina Carroll, director of communications at the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. “There is a serious demand for space. We are working to foster relationships with developers to create guidelines to help them integrate newly built spaces for artists. We also have the Alternative Space Pilot Project, which matches artists and art groups to underused private spaces.”
On Oct. 20, OrigiNation hosted its annual benefit gala, “Twist and Shout,” to raise money for youth programs. It featured a VIP reception, silent auction and dances choreographed by Dibinga, her sister Maudi and alumna Britney Wilkerson.
“I want Boston to be the it factor. I want us to be able to create a structure where Philadelphia, New York and California, and London are looking at us saying, ‘This is what we need to duplicate,’ ” she said. “I hope in the future we have affordable theater and studio spaces without the stress and focus on what’s important … the art.”
