Popcorn Noir is our kind of project. Motivated by love of film and community, it’s an exciting example of a crazy idea brought to life, and one sure to become a fixture.

We’re just getting settled here in Western Massachusetts, even while I’m commuting weekly back to Brooklyn to teach three classes at Pratt. And we are continually reassured by the signs of creativity all around us. Like in Brooklyn, there are a lot of folk here doing projects, giving form to ideas. One of those projects is Popcorn Noir, a free movie theater taking shape in a formerly-vacant storefront. With a powerful guiding vision and a troupe of volunteer laborers, this funky little Deco jewel box of a theater is almost done gestating. I’m excited to slide into one of the sleek leather seats and see what movies—they promise a fertile mix of classics, indies, and locally-produced films—they will be showing.

I crafted a logo for Popcorn Noir, drawing on film reels and the lunar cycle in the darkened sky, with a popcorn full moon and Art Deco-inflected type.