“Inaugural artists include Ghada Amer, Sam Fields, and Massiel Grullon”
Every time we turn around, it seems like Now + There is beautifying another public space, painting yet another wall.
The organization’s latest initiative is Lot Lab, a “public art pilot program that will transform underused lots with site-specific contemporary public art installations open to the public, for free, at any time.” The inaugural installation is a “collaboration with the National Park Service and Boston Harbor Now,” and “will be created at the entrance to the Charlestown Navy Yard and will feature three large-scale art installations reflecting a theme of “mending” by international artist Ghada Amer, Boston-area artist Massiel Grullon, and Boston artist Sam Fields, whose artwork will be installed later in the summer.”
Lot Lab will be on display from June 7 to Oct, 31 at 115 Constitution Road in Charlestown, and “will offer signature artworks, free community-responsive events in partnership with Charlestown youth organizations, Turn It Around and Charlestown Boys and Girls Club, and performances by Boston nonprofits that center the project’s overall goals of transformation, connection, and welcoming along Boston’s waterfront.”
“We’re immensely proud to announce the opening of Lot Lab, a key strategy in deepening our commitment to a more vibrant and equitable Boston through the power of public art,”
Now + There Executive Director Kate Gilbert said in a statement. “For our young organization, this 3-year location co-created with the community to honor both place and people provides a consistent platform for artistic risk-taking and community engagement. Lot Lab creates a new destination that promotes access to contemporary art, sparks transformation, and will leave behind tactics for a more vibrant and inclusive Charlestown Navy Yard.”
“Lot Lab affords us an incredible opportunity to celebrate the complex histories of the Charlestown Navy Yard and offers new ways of engaging with the waterfront for both visitors and residents,” added Michael Creasey, General Superintendent of National Parks of Boston. “We deeply appreciate the opportunity to integrate the arts into Boston’s national parks and are looking forward to seeing the community engage in this space.”
“We are excited to bring transformative public art to the Charlestown Harborwalk, reimagining the city’s underutilized open spaces to better connect our communities,” said Kathy Abbott, President and CEO of Boston Harbor Now. “We are so proud to support this project’s unique use of storytelling and artistic creativity to activate and revitalize this portion of the waterfront for all to enjoy.”
Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.
