8 Local Artists Will Transform Utility Boxes Into Inspiring Public Art
Eight visual artists are preparing to use utility boxes as canvases to reflect on what it means to welcome, and be welcomed, in a new outdoor public art exhibition sponsored by the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (Downtown Boston BID) during mid-October!
Credit: Jennifer Astin
Dorchester-based artist Naijah Nine's expressive, graphical work suggests reaching out to underrepresented communities, particularly queer people of color, acknowledging issues they face in feeling welcome.
“It’s Welcome Time” is an art installation comprised up of paintings throughout Downtown Crossing and the Financial District that depict culturally meaningful gestures, person-to-person interactions and various interpretations that fit the theme. BID President Rosemarie Sansone says the public art aligns with other efforts her group is making to help people living, working and visiting downtown feel welcome, safe and confident in their return to the commercial and residential neighborhood.
Participating artists were chosen by a panel of judges including business owners Ferguson Herivaux and Ian So, artist and project manager Tran Vu and BID representatives. The panel selected a diverse group of artists to bring a wide range of perspectives to the project, with many artists taking on themes of racial and social injustice, LGBTQ+ inclusion and representation, and imaging a more fair, equal city infrastructure.
The Artists
Brighton-based Eli Portman, whose colorful and comforting city scene, captures neighbors looking out from apartment windows, watching the street in anticipation of new visitors
Boston’s Demetri Espinosa, with a studio in Lawrence, uses vibrant colors in abstract applications reminiscent of street art, that suggests two faces -- are they in conversation, or do they suggest two sides of a person?
Brookline artist Emily Lynn Perelman, whose cosmic approach to the theme features a pair of brightly-colored hands outstretched to support Earth and the universe with a message of peace
Allston art teacher Jennifer Turpin brings expressionistic feeling to a bustling public transit scene, imagining a multilingual, accessible Red Line train designed for all people, regardless of ability
Lynn-based artist and mental-health advocate April Jakubec Duggal offers a brightly colored scene with the traditional Hindu greeting “namaste” against a rich, Southeast Asian-inspired backdrop
Somerville-based Mrinaalika Sivakumar’s work suggests a conscious welcoming through enlightenment, with figures centered in striking, pop-art colors and abstract constellations
Somerville illustrator and puppeteer Adric Giles brings a whimsical, reflecting on how urban Boston has plenty of room to welcome wildlife (in the form of hipster rabbits, ducks and turkeys)
Dorchester artist Naijah Nine, whose expressive, graphical work suggests reaching out to underrepresented communities, particularly queer people of color, acknowledging issues they face in feeling welcome.
More information about “It’s Welcome Time”, including a walking map of the installations, will be available at downtownboston.org as well as the Downtown Boston BID’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. “It’s Welcome Time” can be found with the social media hashtag #DowntownBoston!
Credit: Jennifer Astin
Artist Eli Portman of Brighton depicts a colorful and comforting city scene, capturing neighbors looking out from apartment windows and watching the street in anticipation of new visitors.