Matthew Dickey | The Streetscape Curator
I’m Matthew Dickey, the Streetscape Curator. What’s a Streetscape Curator? Heck if I know but I was called one in an article once and I liked it. My paintings, photos, and tours aim to share context about why cities look the way they do. I’m a Streetscape Curator.
How did I get this way? I grew up on Route 66 in Collinsville, Illinois just outside of St. Louis. I developed an obsession with architecture at a young age touring Frank Lloyd Wright homes and taking advantage of all the free museums in St. Louis.
I failed to get into architecture school (a blessing all these years later) and got a BFA in painting instead. I like to paint and criticize buildings more than I care to design them. A graduate program in Arts Administration at Boston Univerity brought me to Boston in 2011 and I didn’t care to leave. I’ve been living in Dorchester ever since.
I’ve been taking photos since I was a kid cycling around the neighborhood. Photography is for painters in a hurry. Photos have become the starting point of my paintings and I frequently have my bike in tow. Some things never change. Someday I hope to paint enough buildings of Boston to make a book that will combine my paintings with the history of every location shared.
Have a building you want on your wall? Or maybe you want to tour the town and learn about Boston’s curious corners? Let’s roam and see the city.
