coloring outside the lines in Dorchester since 1998 !

Join Us For Our
Annual Fundraiser

Thursday June 20th
6:30pm - 9:30pm
The First Parish Church
10 Parish St, Dorchester



about dot art

our Teaching Artists

our Administration

our Board Members


The mission of dot art is to create art making opportunities for children ages three to ten from Dorchester and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Founded in 1998 when an Art Educator living in the community saw a need for quality art classes, she and 16 Dorchester residents created classes for youth which filled to capacity almost immediately. As classes began to develop, the group decided to incorporate as the Dorchester Community Center for the Visual Arts - which quickly became known as Dot Art. As a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, Dot Art functions under a traditional board structure with a 12 - member volunteer Board of Directors.

Dot Art offers four types of programs to engage the community in different ways to create and nurture an environment where art is valued:  Sequential programs, usually a series of classes of 8-10 weeks’ duration; Workshops, which are usually one session of duration;  Exhibitions, which bring Dot Art’s students and their families together with hundreds, and sometimes tens of thousands of art viewers; and  Performances and Installations, which enable our students to present their artwork in surprising ways and places.

As Boston's largest and most populous neighborhood, Dorchester encompasses a rich diversity of approximately 92,000 residents. According to the 2010 Census Dorchester is 37.3% Black, 28% White, 13.8% Hispanic, 11.6 % Asian and 10.2% comprised of Native Americans, Hawaiian /Pacific Islander and Other. But although rich in resources, Dorchester residents still face some of the highest rates of poverty and social inequities in the city. Dot Art believes all residents of Boston should have access to visual arts learning opportunities and is striving to increase the numbers of children and adults that it serves.

Dot Art is grateful to Mass Cultural Council for operational support. We have received funding over the years from many Boston area foundations. We are proud to collaborate with cultural and civic groups in Dorchester such as Boston City Singers, College Bound Dorchester, The Walter Baker Artist Lofts, The Peabody Square Firehouse.