3 Questions with Meg
We are thrilled to welcome Meg Bergstrand, Artist and Educator, to the N+T Board and share snippets of her conversation with slandie prinston, N+T Marketing + Communications Fellow, about beekeeping, creating a photo journal of Sweden, and scoping the possibilities emerging at Now + There.
You’ve been gardening and beekeeping for seven years. Coincidentally, N+T just turned seven too! What have bees taught you about community? How is this wisdom finding its way in your work and future collaborative efforts with N+T?
Bees kind of represent that utopian world for me where things work. As human beings, the systems we have don’t seem to do the job and if you are not working together very little gets done. Bees have a different mind and focus; They have clear communication. Human beings are complex and art can be a vehicle for finding our way and building together. I’m interested in understanding people and the power of working together to create something… With Now+There, the mission builds connections and bridges.
How do you feel about geography/sites you know well? How do you feel about places you don’t know? What opportunities do you see in Now + There’s mission of shifting how we consider our encounters with each other + nature?
I lived in Sweden for a while where I couldn’t get a job due to work permit requirements. Every day I went out to capture a different part of the city, riding the train and collecting my sightings in a visual journal. I wish I’d done that here (Boston) where getting up and wandering when you have a job, family, or other pressing commitments does not make wandering a feasible and accessible activity for a lot of people. And that’s where N+T’s impact is crucial.
We are co-creating possibilities in different parts of Boston and producing art installations and interventions that intrigue people, which can lead to appreciation of new artworks and artists, as well as helping re-imagine spaces. A person who just wanted to see the art can find the mom and pop bakery, colorful murals, or a beautifully curated bookshop right down the corner.
What’s on your mind right now?
One of the things I was thinking about is introducing more permanent pieces to (N + T) temporary art installations. I’m thinking of places where we gather for intentional activations. Sometimes people don’t know what to do in an open space and the idea is to show the opportunities and let them experiment, so they continue to transform the space.
Small gardens could help bring larger audiences to the artworks: gardeners caring for plants and herbs while getting curious about the art, and art-lovers visiting the art and getting curious about the garden and its activities. This sort of fusion could open doors for N+T’s audience to cross-pollinate, fostering new relationships and visions in a neighborhood. The grandmothers, the kids, the teenagers all come out; and maybe one night, there’s spoken word too.
slandie prinston is the Marketing + Communications Fellow at Now + There, as well as a writer and organizer.
Images: Ang Li’s Place of Assembly, photo (c) Faith Ninivaggi; N+T Board Member Meg Bergstrand (c) Sylvia Stagg-Giuliano