N+T Assistant Curator Jasper A. Sanchez reflects on the inaugural year of Lot Lab– a pilot program turning an underserved parking lot in Charlestown into a site for art, play, and community– via the importance of partnership.

N+T Curatorial Programs & Community Engagement Intern Poppy Livingstone shares the story behind Kyle Browne’s community-based flag-making project, Signaling, at Lot Lab. 

As part of our commitment to fostering a more vibrant city through bold public art, we strive to build culturally responsive relationships through our partnerships and participatory programs. This year at Lot Lab is no different; we are connecting with the community of Charlestown and beyond through dynamic programming of performance, spoken word, theater, workshops, and much more. 

From our Catalyst Circle to Leadership Circle to 24/7 Circle, to the meaningful contributions of friends and neighbors, we are all helping to infuse more enjoyment in Boston. This month we are celebrating two major donors who have made significant investments in N+T: Barr Foundation and Wagner Foundation.

We take this day to honor Juneteenth, amplifying community programming centering on Black and Brown voices, aesthetics, and arts in Boston and beyond!

We take this month to honor Black History Month and celebrate Black creators, visionaries, and storytellers. Check the list of curated events we put together for you.

We take this day to honor all Indigenous Peoples past, present, and future, including the Massachusett tribe who first inhabited the Shawmut Peninsula where many Now + There projects have occurred, including current project on Boston Common.

Building on the success of N+T Asks and #LiveSesh, we’re bringing the conversation to the Common with two live N+T Asks: Boston Common at the What Do We Have In Common cabinet.

In our final episode of Season 3 of N+T Asks, Executive Director Kate Gilbert is joined by two special guests to explore the history of the ever-evolving South End. We welcome artist and professor Mark Cooper, and Director of the Youth Development Program at IBA Boston, Pedro Cruz to chat all about the diverse and artistic South End.

On April 22, 2021, we visited one of Boston’s most vibrant neighborhoods— Egleston Square, and had Now + There’s first ever interpreted N+T Asks! Curator Leah Triplett Harrington is joined by Paloma Valenzuela, Writer/Producer/Director of the web series The Pineapple Diaries; Nakia Hill, Writers' Room Director at 826 Boston, and Writer/Producer; and Denise Delgado, Executive Director of Egleston Square Main Street.

Join the artist behind Ambrosia, Cicely Carew, for an hour of healing and rejuvenation. Inspired by Cicely's artistic process of improvisational joy-following, this virtual sound bath will focus on breath and centering.

On April 1, 2021, we virtually visited one of Boston’s oldest neighborhoods to examine its past and reimagine its future! Join us in the streets of Beacon Hill with artist L’Merchie Frazier and resident Cathy Stone as Executive Director Kate Gilbert moderates an hour long conversation.

Saying goodbye to Nick Cave’s “Augment” inflatables on October 20 and reflecting on a community-engaged process that reminds us that joy lives within us.

Did you know that the first “playground” in the United States was a giant sandbox (called a “sand garden”) in Boston’s North End? Neither did we…until now.

On Thursday, August 6, 2020, we hosted our fifteenth “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, artist Michael Dowling and Denise Molina Capers of South Boston en Acción, “What does South Boston need right now?”

On Thursday, July 30, 2020, we hosted our fourteenth “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, artist/designer Ayana Mack and entrepreneur/organizer Thuwaiba Thezine, “What does Mattapan need right now?”

Boston-based artist and journalist Arielle Gray joined our Assistant Curator, Leah Triplett Harrington, to discuss the ongoing, nationwide reckoning with monuments and memorials.

On Thursday, July 23, 2020, we hosted our thirteenth “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, artist Ross Miller, Editor-in-Chief of Allston Pudding Christine Varriale, and Executive Director of Allston Village Main Streets Alex Cornacchini, "what does Allston need right now?"

On Thursday, July 16, 2020 we hosted our twelfth “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, artist Tran Vu and Lisette Le, Executive Director of Viet Aid, “What does Fields Corner need right now?”

On Thursday, July 9, 2020, we hosted our eleventh “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, local artists and educators Johnetta Tinker and Larry Pierce, "What does Grove Hall need right now?"

On Thursday, July 2, 2020, we hosted our tenth “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, Roxbury Cultural District’s Anita Morson Matra and local artists Ifé Franklin and Chanel Thervil, "What does Roxbury need right now?"

On Thursday, June 25, 2020, we hosted our eighth “N+T Asks” conversation. This week Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, Gladys Oliveros, Director of East Boston Main Streets, and local artist Veronica Robles, of Veronica Robles Cultural Center, "What does East Boston need right now?"

In response to the ongoing debates surrounding public memorials in America, we hosted an Instagram live session featuring our Assistant Curator, Leah Triplett Harrington, in conversation with local curator and arts leader Jen Mergel.

On June 18, 2020, we hosted our eighth N+T Asks conversation. This week, Executive Director Kate Gilbert asked you and our guests, Sarah Coughlin (LICSW, LADC-I), Director, and Mswati Hanks, Youth Prevention Coordinator, of the Charlestown Coalition; and local artist Maria Molteni: “What does Charlestown Need Right Now?”

A list of just a few of the resources and tools that have been speaking to us over the last week as we deepen our commitment to anti-racism and equity. Shared with some insight from the N+T Team into what the work of educating ourselves brings up as we come to grips with the magnitude of the work we have ahead of us to live into our vision for helping create a radical cultural shift in Boston.