If you’ve been following us on Instagram lately, you may have noticed that we had an out-of-this-world blast making our first project of 2021: Cicely Carew’s Ambrosia, up at Prudential Center through June 30. It’s been only two weeks since we finished installing, but we’re already reminiscing. Here’s our recap of Ambrosia’s journey to Prudential, featuring new behind-the-scenes photos and a social media roundup of our favorite posts (so far).
As with most projects, Ambrosia began long before install week at Pru. In (relatively) bite-sized pieces, this delight for the senses was initially cooked up over sixty days in BRM Production Management’s Lowell shop.
Photos by Mark Tiewes
Once each piece was as complete, BRM fit what they could in their truck — and four trips from Lowell to Back Bay later, the art and gear was now waiting in our onsite green room, a former Ann Taylor, for install night one.
The Prudential building is open 24/7 but it gets much quieter after Boston, inevitably, goes to sleep. To pull off this massive project in just five days, we turned nocturnal for a week, working 9pm-5am each night (thanks due to energy drinks, Star Wars bandaids, and chocolate).
On night one, we took a cue from the project and improvised when Cicely woke up with a case of the sniffles. Our stellar curator, Leah, our intrepid project manager, Polina, and the whole team at BRM persevered, with Cicely on hand via FaceTime to guide us. It was an all-hands-on-deck experience, but you know what they say: teamwork makes the artwork.
After multiple tests, we thanked our lucky stars that Cicely was in good health. Cleared once again for takeoff, the bulk of the installation took shape over the next three nights.
Cicely’s distinct “astral forms” and iridescent window films began to punctuate the sky through the windows of Prudential’s arcades. In the Boylston street entrance, glittery golden rainbows adorned with tulle, orbs, and crystals now cascaded from the ceiling, soon after, the abstracted plexiglass constellation in Center Court jolted into focus.
By night five, after final installations and adjustments, the team set about zhuzhing. We fluffed tulle up, touched paint up, and tied hundreds of crystals up to the rafters. Sometime around 6am Friday morning, the last of the team emerged, with the work just about complete.
Photos by Caitlin Cunningham
Now, all we need to take this project to stratospheric heights is *you.* Whether you’re passing through Prudential every day or experiencing the art from home, Ambrosia asks us all to bask in the light, look to the sky, and reset our connections to ourselves and each other.
We’re so grateful to Cicely, our project partners at Prudential Center, BRM Production Management, and, of course, you for all the love you’ve shown already (feel free to keep it coming with #AmbrosiaBOS).
Plus, keep an eye out for us at Prudential this Tuesday, March 30 — we’ll be filming your Ambrosia reactions and interactions for the project mini-doc.