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. We acknowledge the mass displacement, violence, and racism Indigenous Peoples have suffered and the injustices they continue to experience today.
As an organization committed to creating more openness and connection in Boston through site-specific, engaging public art experiences, Now + There acknowledges the deliberate and systemic oppression that has created the built environment where our projects occur. We strive to present the work of artists and create public conversations they help heal and transform the centuries-long history of events, policies, and attitudes that have created the landscapes we see today.
On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, may we recognize and honor the traditions and wisdom first peoples have carried to this present day. And may we stand with them to create equality for all indigenous people throughout the world.
When curating The Shape of Play by Sari Carel with partners Jewish Arts Collaborative (JArts) we were confronted with the name of the park we selected was best suited for the acoustics of Carel’s work. Waterfront Park itself, also known as Christopher Columbus Park, has been the subject of recent local debates about the racist roots of many public memorials and monuments. Originally inhabited and stewarded by the people of the Massachusetts tribe, Waterfront Park and the City of Boston, as many other places in the United States, are manifestations of a violent and exclusionary colonial system that stole freedom from many people over hundreds of years.
In messaging The Shape of Play, we chose to use the name Waterfront Park, and have included the above information on signage and public outreach. It’s a small gesture and there is certainly more to be done including hosting space for public conversation. We invite you to continue the conversation with us at the following free events and to work with us to make every day an acknowledgment of the Indigenous Peoples whose unceded lands we all continue to play a role in shaping.
Make your voice heard tomorrow, October 13, at 4 pm at the Boston Art Commission’s monthly virtual meeting where they will discuss the decision not to return the vandalized statue of Christopher Columbus to Waterfront Park. Instead, it will be replaced with a monument to Italian American immigrants and the BAC plans to announce a special meeting for Indigenous public art. Register here for this important public meeting.
Join JArts as they host “The Civic Space Perspective: How do physical environments of cities factor into play and freedom?” on October 20 at noon. Journalist Renee Loth will be in conversation with Boston’s Chief of Arts and Culture, Kara Elliot-Ortega, activist and founder of the Cross Cultural Collaborative, Tiffany Cogell, landscape architect Sara Brunelle, and Design Museum Boston Executive Director, Sam Aquillano. Register here for this free conversation.