Our arts organizations need your support, and you need their work to keep your soul warm this winter.<\/b>
\nLiving virtually doesn\u2019t have to mean toggling between Zoom meetings and YouTube puppy videos. Everyone needs a few good dog clips now and then, but don\u2019t forget to get outside (see the city holiday walk below) and swap Zooms for a few December arts offerings. Our arts organizations need your support, and you need their work to keep your soul warm this winter. Downtown Holiday Magic, downtown Boston, now through Jan.31 With arts institutions unable to perform for audiences, they have come together for a way to bring some cheer to December. Downtown Crossing windows have come alive with winter celebrations designed by Boston\u2019s marquee arts organizations. The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company created a projection-based design for an audio performance of Charles Dickens\u2019 \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d at 467 Washington St. Boston Ballet came up with an installation showing off the handmade costumes from \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d at 101 Arch St. Cambridge\u2019s historic Revels put a twist on the winter solstice showing off the troupe\u2019s singular style and sets at 395 Washington St. \u201cIn the Absence of Things,\u201d online, debuts Tuesday Somi Kakoma\u2019s \u201cIn the Absence of Things,\u201d an experimental short film, looks at the spiritual consequences of the global pandemic on creative practices, what Kakoma calls \u201cthe emotional vibration and undemocratic fragility of cultural space and the living stage.\u201d Presented by a team of cultural and arts organizations, including ArtsEmerson, a first look at the film and a conversation with Kakoma takes place Tuesday. Details at artsemerson.org. DJ WhySham, Genie Santiago, Trap Beat Tranny, online, Saturday Once\u2019s virtual venue has celebrated so many artists during the 2020 concert season that wasn\u2019t. Not surprising considering what the Somerville ballroom puts on in a typical year. Boogie to beats of this three-act bill that will run from chill to raging, tender to radical. The revolution won\u2019t be televised but it will be streamed via Once. (Double dip at the virtual stage and sign on to see Linnea\u2019s Garden on Friday.) Details at oncesomerville.com\/virtual-venue\/. \u201cTwist & Shout: An Evening of Dance, Spoken Word and Music,\u201d online, Saturday OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center celebrates its 26th season with this virtual gala featuring performances by its professional dancers. The arts non-profit founded by dancer and teacher Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, which focuses on bringing dance, theater and African history education programs to underserved Boston neighborhoods, has been hit hard by the pandemic. Tune in, bid on silent auction items and help raise funds for the hundreds of kids OrigiNation works with each year. Details at originationinc.org. \u201cBlack Voices Boston: Our Stories in Words and Movement,\u201d online, debuts Sunday Celebrity Series of Boston planned to bring Colombia-based choreographer Rafael Palacios\u2019 Sankofa Danzafro to our city this winter. Instead, Palacios teamed with seven members of Boston\u2019s Black communities to turn painful and triumphant personal stories into short dance films. Participants ranged from 17- to 76-years-old, from a high school student and aspiring hip-hop artist to poets, painters and teachers, and worked with Palacios and his dancers via Zoom for private lessons to create the free-to-view films. Details at celebrityseries.org\/blackvoices.<\/p>\n