Skip to main content
Home

Utility navigation

  • Donate
  • About
    • Mission, Values, & History
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Funders
    • Annual Report & Strategic Plan
    • Donate
    • Board of Directors & Staff
    • Employment
    • NEFA Logo Download & Crediting
  • Grants & Programs
    • Find a Grant
    • Grant Programs
    • Creative Economy
    • CreativeGround Directory
    • Grant Recipients
    • International Engagement
    • Return to Your Grant Application
  • Resources
    • Advocacy
    • Arts & Accessibility
    • Emergency Preparedness & Relief
    • Jobs & Opportunities
    • Native American Arts
    • Publications
    • Racial & Social Justice Resources
  • News
    • Blog
    • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Donate
  • About
    • Mission, Values, & History
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Funders
    • Annual Report & Strategic Plan
    • Donate
    • Board of Directors & Staff
    • Employment
    • NEFA Logo Download & Crediting
  • Grants & Programs
    • Find a Grant
    • Grant Programs
    • Creative Economy
    • CreativeGround Directory
    • Grant Recipients
    • International Engagement
    • Return to Your Grant Application
  • Resources
    • Advocacy
    • Arts & Accessibility
    • Emergency Preparedness & Relief
    • Jobs & Opportunities
    • Native American Arts
    • Publications
    • Racial & Social Justice Resources
  • News
    • Blog
    • Press Releases
  • Events
A man stands behind a drying print of a black and white photo of Melissa looking in a mirror.

Photo: Melissa Nussbaum Freeman

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Grants & Programs
  3. Grant Recipients
Grant Recipient

Melissa Nussbaum Freeman | Red Sage Stories

Photo: Melissa Nussbaum Freeman

Location
Jamaica Plain, MA
Digital Presence
Artist Website
Project Title
The Table/La Mesa: The Welcome Project
Fiscal Year Awarded
2017
Grant or Program
Creative City Boston - Artist Grant
Grant Amount
$10,000
  • June 15, 2017 | Performance | 6:00 PM
    Dudley Café | 15 Warren St, Roxbury, MA 02119
  • June 19, 2017 | Performance | 6:00 PM
    The Strand Theater | 543 Columbia Rd, Boston, MA 02125
  • June 24, 2017 | Performance | 11:00 AM -12:30 PM
    Nightingale Community Garden | 512 Park St, Dorchester, MA 02124
  • June 28, 2017 | ​Performance, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative Annual Meeting | 5:30 PM
    St. Patrick's Church | 10 Magazine St, Roxbury, MA 02119

The Table/La Mesa: The Welcome Project is a multi-faceted performative social engagement that invites community members to take a literal seat at a table – to share tea, a treat, and their own story related to being welcomed. The community ensemble Red Sage Stories, directed by Melissa Nussbaum Freeman, will then devise 30-45 min performances about being welcomed to be performed at these Table sites and at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative’s annual meeting. At a time when racist and xenophobic acts are headlines, The Table/La Mesa offers an inclusive experience of being heartily welcomed in unlikely places. 

A women stretches out a green scarf towards the sky as a man and a woman watch while sitting on pedestals.
Photo by Maureen White
Melissa holds a mug in front of her while sitting in a gallery space.
Photo by Maureen White

What's Happening

Sep 8, 2025
The mural, which spells out Clinton, sits on the side of a wall that creates a bridge for a train. The town of Clinton sits beyond the tracks with tall green trees and a bright blue sky.

Making it Public: Public Art Fosters Community Pride in Clinton, MA

Aug 20, 2025
On the side of a large container on the back of a dump truck, a mural of kids watering plants. Monarch butterflies flutter. It reads behind them, "Belchertown," over a shade of blue found in the sky above.

Making it Public: Community-inspired Artmaking in Belchertown

Aug 14, 2025
Outside, a standard black and silver microphone on a stand. Blurry folks congregate behind it.

Amplify your Voice: Support Federal Investment in the Arts & Humanities

See all News

Stay Connected

Receive the latest news, grant offerings, and community events.

Sign up

Footer Logo

321 Harrison Ave, Suite 420, Boston, MA 02118 T 617-951-0010 F 617-951-0016 info@nefa.org
Traditional lands of the Massachuset and the Wampanoag Peoples
NEFA is open Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Footer

  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Return to Grant Application
  • Staff Login
Four stars below the Charity Navigator logo.
"Platinum Transparency 2024 - Candid."

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Instragram