Christine E. Brown

For her Central Massachusetts Artist Initiative installation, Christine E. Brown presents Our Hearts In The Margins, a mixed-media installation exploring the emotional landscape of first love. The work centers on the rituals and artifacts of early romance, particularly for people who came of age in the 1990s, such as handwritten love notes tucked or gifted mix tapes/CDs. Through colorful fabric textiles expressing familiar and nostalgic imagery, the work invites viewers to remember what it felt like to first fall in love—when emotion was urgent and immediate, blissful, unfiltered, intense, and full of possibility.

Christine E. Brown is a Worcester-based visual artist who tells her story through textiles, illustration, and poetry.  Her work has been exhibited at the Boston Public Library, the Lawrence Library Art Gallery, and the Speedwell Gallery in Portland, ME. Christine is a recipient of the 2022 Apprenticeship Grant from Mass Cultural Council to become versed in natural dyes and horticulture science. She is also a 2021 graduate of the Assets for Artists Capacity-Building Grant Program, and a 2023 alum of the Studios at Mass MoCA artist residency. She now works for the program as an Artist Leader, Educator, and Mentor, and was also a 2024-2025 Advocacy and Organizing Fellow for Mass Creative.