Transformative Public Art Program

About the city. Museums dedicated to visual art in the Boston area include the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Center of Afro-American Artists, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Notable art museums and galleries are associated with Harvard University, Boston University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston College, Brandeis University, Tufts University, Wellesley College, MassArt, and other schools.

Goal

This project is part of the City’s ten-year cultural plan, Boston Creates, which calls for the creation of public art that embraces a neighbourhood’s identity and adds to a strong sense of place. The City of Boston is looking to increase its collection and availability of public art by adding new artwork that transforms and enhances our current sense of place, improves the streetscape, and creates an environment that celebrates the City’s cultural vibrancy.

Implementation period. The program began in 2019.

Fact

The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture enhances the quality of life, the economy, and the design of the City through the arts. The role of the arts in all aspects of life in Boston is reinforced via equitable access to arts and culture in every community, its public institutions, and public places.

Solutions

2019

The City commissions several murals and temporary projects every year as part of the Transformative Public Art Program. In 2019, it released a call to artists for the first round of the program. The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture was particularly interested in murals and temporary projects with social practice, participatory artmaking, or educational programming that celebrates the diversity of Boston. In 2019 they funded seven projects.

For example, Nick Cave with Now + There received $20,000 for the multimedia public art project “Augment” in the South End and Dorchester. Augment is a singular artwork, a community parade, and a call for Boston to come together in public and cultivate shared joy.

Rob “Problak” Gibbs received $15,000 to create a mural in Roxbury. Gibbs is a painter, muralist and graffiti artist who was one of six urban teens to co-found the nonprofit Artists For Humanity. Gibbs has conducted art workshops for Girls, Inc., The Boston Foundation, and YouthBuild. He has been a teacher and guest artist at the Eliot Middle School and has provided innovative programming to young men at Rayne Academy. His work has been featured in exhibitions around the country. He was also commissioned by the City of Boston in 2017 to create a mural called “Breathe Life” in Grove Hall, which turned into a three-part mural series and was recognized as part of Americans for the Arts’ 2019 Public Art Network Year in Review.

What does a call to artists mean?

This call to artists is open to all professional artists, artisans, cultural producers, or teams with experience in public art, site-responsive design, project management, and community engagement. Local artists are especially encouraged to apply, and artists must be at least 18 years old. Projects may be proposed for a public or private property with permission from the property owner. They can include temporary artwork and interventions that are integrated into the streetscape, as well as murals on empty walls. Artists are selected by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, and the Boston Art Commission will approve final artwork designs.

2020

The City released a call to artists for the second round of the program in April 2020. That year, it was looking for artworks that respond to COVID-19 and provide creative approaches to public connections and community rituals at a time of disorientation and insecurity. It supported projects that were ready to be implemented immediately and also supported the research and development of future projects. Twenty-four projects were selected as part of last year’s Transformative Public Art Program. In addition, two murals that were funded through the first year of the program were completed last summer. One of them is Mia Schon. She worked with Boston Public Schools art departments to gather 23 hand-drawn hearts by local students representing each neighbourhood of Boston and created a tiled mosaic to bring joy to patients, healthcare workers, staff, and the community at large.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Sx6gdZFds

2021

In 2021, the program is being implemented in three directions. The first is for artists interested in creating murals that are flexible about location. Artists will be selected based on a written proposal, their portfolio, and their interests. The second opportunity is for artists interested in creating murals associated with specific themes or communities identified by the City. The third is for artists with a distinct, short-term project and location in mind. Projects can include new media, traditional media, community-engaged cultural practices, etc.

Team

Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Mayor Kim Janey, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, the City of Boston and the Boston Art Commission.

Timeline

In collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Boston Parks Department and the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, among other departments, mayor Kim Janey announced the Joy Agenda, which is a city-wide invitation, opportunity, and investment in collective well being. As a vital part of this initiative, the City of Boston and Boston Art Commission accept applications for the 2021 Transformative Public Art Program, which is now in its third year.

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