Forest Hills Cemetery Arts Events Are On Hold

’s diverse arts events—possibly including this year’s Lantern Festival—are on hold after the entire arts programming staff quit in an apparent dispute with cemetery leadership over the suitability of art there. The unexplained moves have left arts groups and fans confused.

“I find the decision very startling and very disappointing,” said Harris Gardner, director of Tapestry of Voices, a poetry reading series that called the cemetery home for nine years. Cemetery leadership, he said, is “going from chocolate mousse to vanilla.”

“I think it would be horrible if they suspended the Lantern Festival at Forest Hills Cemetery,” said Jamaica Plain resident Courtney Greene, who is such a committed fan that she has the Buddhist-themed festival’s lanterns tattooed on her arm. “It would really be an injustice to the entire JP community. People look forward to that event all year and it’s a symbol of togetherness for us.”

The music, poetry, exhibits, tours and festivals at the 95 Forest Hills Ave. cemetery are organized by the Forest Hills Educational Trust, an independent non-profit that works in the same office as cemetery staff. In mid-December, FHET announced that Executive Director Cecily Miller was “stepping down” and that 2011 arts programming is on hold for a “strategic planning effort” with no announced deadline or timeframe.

“The Forest Hills Educational Trust will take a break from its busy calendar of public programs to focus on strategic planning in 2011,” said FHET board chairman Robert Macleod in a press release.

In fact, not only Miller, but FHET’s entire three-person staff, resigned. There has been no announcement of a search for new staff. For planning purposes, FHET has posted an online customer survey that includes the question, “If the trust had to cut back on its activities, what are the three things you would most want to make sure that we continue?”

 The only hint of an explanation for the turmoil came in a recent press release from Macleod that described tension between FHET and the cemetery’s board of directors.

“For several years, the Cemetery Board has indicated that it would like to see a change in the direction of the Trust's programs,” Macleod wrote. “While supporting history walking tours and the popular Lantern Festival, the Cemetery has communicated that the arts and cultural programs of the Trust are not priorities. As a result, we have expanded our history programs and have not organized a new contemporary art exhibit since 2006. We feel a need to clarify our direction through a thorough planning process before we resume activities.”

But it is unclear why a planning process requires suspension of events, or how long the planning and suspending programming will last, or what prompted the resignation of the entire FHET staff. The other staffers who left include Director of Development Nini Colmore and Program Coordinator Jonathan Clark.

Miller initially agreed to an e-mail interview with Patch, then referred all questions to Macleod and did not answer any of them herself. Macleod replied by sending a press release and did not respond to further questions. A spokeswoman for cemetery president George Milley referred all questions—including questions about the cemetery board’s positions—to FHET, saying, “We don’t have any additional information.”

“Cecily is too polite to say what’s going on,” said Gardner, the poetry program organizer. “I don’t think she felt supported by the cemetery board the last few years.”

The core issue appears to be tension between a more conservative vision from the cemetery board and a more liberal vision from the FHET, which formed in 1995 to conduct the cemetery’s community outreach and fund-raising. Under Miller’s decade of leadership, there were occasional mild controversies over installation art exhibits built among the cemetery’s headstones and monuments.

But by most measures, FHET’s programs have been a success, drawing thousands of visitors a year and raising more than $2 million under Miller’s tenure, according to FHET. The efforts have included repairs to the 1848 cemetery’s historic monuments; walking tours that highlight the graves of famous people; and a recent history project that identified several notable African-Americans who were not previously known to be buried there.

With all those external signs pointing to success, it appears that FHET’s problems have been internal.

Tapestry of Voices is now done at Forest Hills’ landmark Forsyth Chapel and has already found other venues elsewhere. Gardner questioned the FHET board’s decision to suspend programming, saying that it will be like “starting over” if and when the group tries to bring arts organizations back after they have moved on.

But Gardner’s main concern was about the cemetery board’s opposition to arts programs that draw fund-raising and public support.

“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “You’ve got writers buried there. You’ve got artists buried there.”

“Don’t they know what community they’re dealing with?” Gardner added, noting JP’s support for the arts. “Not to use [the cemetery] to its fullest capacity is extremely unfortunate.”

The annual Lantern Festival is the cemetery’s biggest event, drawing more than 4,000 people every July. The festival, founded in 1998, allows people to remember dead friends and family with handmade paper lanterns floated on the cemetery’s Lake Hibiscus pond.

Macleod’s press release indicates that the cemetery board supports the Lantern Festival, and Gardner says he suspects it will continue at some point. But it remains unclear whether this year’s festival is part of the suspended programming. Miller and Macleod did not respond to Patch questions specifically about the Lantern Festival’s future.

Greene, the JP resident who had a local tattoo artist ink the festival’s lanterns on her bicep, said that the festival is too vital to lose.

“I chose to get that as my tattoo because I felt it represented JP in the best way possible,” Greene said. “I’d hate to see it taken away. There are still so many kids who deserve to experience the Festival for the first time!”

If and when FHET arts programs do return, it is unclear who would run them, or how future conflicts with the cemetery board would be avoided. Patch found widespread support for Miller.

“Cecily Miller…did a remarkable, Herculean job,” Gardner said. “Hats off to Cecily Miller for a job well done.”