The Jar aims to double its reach this season
‘This incredible time of division . . . is exactly the moment for something like The Jar to flourish.’
GUY BEN-AHARON executive director
Since its founding in 2019, The Jar has gathered a diverse mix of community members to discuss art and why it is meaningful to them. Now with a boost from a grant from the Mellon Foundation, it’s expanding its reach this spring and hosting nine salons, performances, and experiences, including one in which patrons can create art themselves.
When The Jar hosts events, anyone who wants to participate cannot purchase just one $10 ticket; instead the organization encourages community building and bonding with strangers through its “convener model.” A convener purchases a “jar” of four to six tickets, depending on the event, and is asked to include someone close to them, someone they enjoy spending time with, and someone they “wouldn’t normally experience culture with . . . people you’d like to know better,” according to the group’s website.
In December 2022 the group received a $750,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to support a goal of doubling its reach from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. At the time, executive director Guy Ben-Aharon said The Jar hoped to create 10,000 experiences this season — an “experience” defined as one person attending one event. He said this month that the group is on track to reach that goal.
Upcoming events in April and May include:
◼️ Salons in homes across Boston on April 26 and April 27 and May 7 and May 11.
◼️ A stand-up performance by Palestinian-American comedian Atheer Yacoub on May 4.
◼️ A choral rehearsal with Troy Anthony on May 9.
◼️ A salon in a neighborhood cafe at a location to be determined with a performance by Chinese American comedian and actor Chris Grace on May 16.
◼️ A performance of Grace’s one-man comedy show “Chris Grace as Scarlett Johansson” on May 17 and May 18.
Esther Leibel, convener council member, will be opening up her home in Brookline for a salon on April 26.
“The salon part is special, this idea of opening your home to people that you don’t know because you share this connection to The Jar, and you’re just interested in meeting new people,” she said. “It gives confidence, as a host, that the people who will come into your place will be respectful and aligned with your values and in for a good night.”
To give participants a chance to create some art themselves, The Jar is hosting Troy Anthony of the Fire Ensemble — a choir based in New York City that welcomes singers of all skill levels, backgrounds, and ages. Anthony will teach participants songs through rote learning with lyric sheets and no sheet music.
“The actual experience of having to learn the songs together is the actual event. Songs are tools that you can use to explore big questions or make yourself feel more present,” said Anthony. “So every song has a specific purpose to help you engage with yourself or the people around you.”
Along with continuing to increase the number of events and its reach,
The Jar is aiming to bring in an outside evaluator to research the organization’s impact, Ben-Aharon said.
“What we’re looking at this spring is how does ‘convening’ . . . affect your life outside of The Jar?” he said. “Are you more likely to be friends with people who don’t look like you? Are you more likely to be friends with people who are not your age, who don’t live in your ZIP code? All those sorts of broader questions.”
Ben-Aharon said in the future The Jar could expand outside of Boston, but it’s not ready to take that step just yet.
“The Jar is trying to simultaneously build the capacity to expand and serve more Bostonians and to begin thinking about what it would look like for the model to scale elsewhere in this incredible time of division,” he said. “It is exactly the moment for something like The Jar to flourish. The Jar creates a platform to lean into curiosity, and for people to be comfortable and joyful around learning new things and meeting new people.”
Visit The Jar’s Eventbrite page for details about its spring season. For more information about The Jar, go to jumpinthejar.org.