Steps from the Charlestown Navy Yard, Lot Lab transformed an unused lot with site-specific contemporary art installations into a vibrant, free, 24/7 “laboratory” for art + community through 2026. With three large-scale art installations in 2023 reflecting a theme of “mending” by international artist Ghada Amer, Boston-area artists Sam Fields and Massiel Grullon, and a youth component led by Kyle Browne, Lot Lab created an artistically-infused community gathering space along the waterfront that connects Boston to the globe.
Five Marble Leaves by Claudia Comte, 2022
Swiss artist Claudia Comte has long been inspired by the wonders of nature. Her love of flora and fauna from different environments has resulted in magnificent sculptures in the form of cacti, coral, and leaves. Inspired by the 24 pin and red oak trees inhabiting Central Wharf Park, she developed this new body of work, Five Marble Leaves. The enlarged leaves are the product of Comte’s study of the varieties of oak in the park. The oak leaves’ “star-like” shape led to totemic yet whimsical sculptures carved from Carrara marble.
Ponle Vuelo A Tus Sueños by Yenny Hernandez, 2022
Joyous and brimming with color, Ponle Vuelo A Tus Sueños (Let Your Dreams Take Flight) offered encouragement and celebrated what is possible. Commissioned by Boston Properties (BXP) for the Prudential Center and produced by Now + There, this site-specific installation paid homage to dreams + journeys.
Summer Sets by Juan Obando, 2022
Using 3D renderings typically employed to project what construction undertakings will look like, Juan Obando's Summer Sets engaged collective imagination to help the public think about how to build/rebuild the landscape. Summer Sets sought to provoke a dialogue between the past, present, and future of space.
To Each Era Its Art. To Art, Its Freedom by Jose Dávila , 2020
Composed of 21 custom-made concrete shapes that are variations of a standard cube with river boulders balancing on top, To Each Era Its Art. To Art, Its Freedom., created a dynamic field of vibrant red-colored geometric forms that accentuated Central Wharf Park. Mexican artist Jose Dávila employed the artwork in responding to our times and Downtown Boston’s waterfront.
What Do We Have in Common? by Janet Zweig, 2021
Ambrosia by Cicely Carew, 2021
Commissioned by Boston Properties and curated by Now + There for the Prudential Center, Cicely Carew’s Ambrosia brought joy to one of Boston's most beloved public spaces. Cambridge-based artist Cicely Carew brought her exuberant, mixed-media abstractions out from the canvas and fully into the third dimension with a larger-than-life installation.
The Shape of Play by Sari Carel, 2020
Commissioned for Boston by JArts and curated and produced by Now + There, The Shape of Play, a public art installation by artist Sari Carel, invited us to reflect on the connections between play and the universal search for freedom. An engaging multi-media work, The Shape of Play welcomed people from across Boston to come, play, question, and explore what freedom means now and what it may look like in the future.
Photo by Faith Ninivaggi. Video by White Birch Media.
Growth Rings by Oscar Tuazon, 2019
Shifting balance
Growth Rings by Oscar Tuazon created a grounding space for contemplation and respite on Boston’s waterfront at Central Wharf Park. Produced by Now + There and guest-curated for this site by Pedro Alonzo, Growth Rings recognized our interconnectivity with trees, celebrated the cycles of life, and sought to foster harmony in our contemporary urban landscape.
¡Provecho! by Justin Favela, 2020
Unabashedly colorful and festive!
¡Provecho! by Justin Favela was comissioned by Boston Properties for the iconic Prudential Center. Curated and produced by now and there, this large-scale pinata-inspired tapestry was on view from January through June of 2020. Created to reflect and celebrate the strong cultural and economic significance of Boston’s Latinx people, ¡Provecho! put the power of Boston’s Latinx people front and center in one of Boston’s most iconic landmarks and commercial spaces.
Unless by Stephanie Cardon, 2018
Photo by Ryan McMahon
In this dramatic floor-to-ceiling installation at the entrance to the landmark Prudential Center marketplace, Cardon used orange construction debris netting, made by many hands from the Boston community and embroidered with text from the Pope’s 2015 Encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. The vibrant contemporary tapestry disrupted the cool marble and glass entrance, posing questions of climate justice and sustainability, and the mounting urgency to act together to effect positive change.
UNLESS was commissioned by Boston Properties and produced and curated by Now + There with our friends at Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, Massachusetts College of Art, and Boston Center for the arts.
“Climate change knows no borders and nationalities but its effect is putting further strain on the divisions we see across race and class. This is the time to come together across our differences to care for each other and our common home.”
See Her by Ann Lewis, 2017
In July of 2017 Ann Lewis, worked with women in a local residential reentry facility run by Community Resources for Justice, to create See Her. See Her a mixed-media mural, illuminated the specific realities, desires, and decisions facing women transitioning out of prison. The mural features one of the facility residents, Laura, a Boston native, as a reflection on the inherent worth, strength, and potential of all women.
“...it feels imperative to use our collaborative talents to highlight, honor, and support a community that is often invisible. Women, in particular, who are caught up in our correctional systems are often overlooked.”
Open House by Liz Glynn, 2018
Liz Glynn. Installation view, Open House, 2018, on Commonwealth Ave Mall. Cast Concrete. Organized for Boston by Now + There, Open House was commissioned and originally presented in 2017 by Public Art Fund in Central Park, New York in cooperation with the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery.
At the turn of the 20th century, New England’s wealthy elite gathered in opulent private salons and ballrooms in Boston to define their social status. These gathering spaces were the seat of power, privilege, and politics in the city. Open House, an installation created by Los Angeles-based, Boston-born artist Liz Glynn, is organized for the Commonwealth Avenue Mall by Now + There. Originally commissioned by the Public Art Fund in cooperation with the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, Open House was first presented at Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park, New York. This new installment of Open House transforms the Commonwealth Avenue Mall West into an open air ruin of a ballroom. In this work the artist highlights class distinctions and the dynamics between public and private space and beckons you to take a seat and linger. Bringing this work to Boston during a time of rapid development, we are sparking a dialogue about economic inequality and supporting Glynn’s desire to incite -more- future action
Slideshow, 2017 by Elisa Hamilton
Putting gutsy, generous, every day lives on view
In the Fall of 2017, Now + There commissioned artist Elisa H. Hamilton to create Slideshow, a multi-media project for HUBWeek's free event space on Boston’s City Hall Plaza. Using photography, analog slides, and storytelling, Hamilton and ten other Boston-area women put their gutsy, generous, every day lives on view to the public. This group — entrepreneurs, activists, educators and artists — are the heart and soul of Slideshow.
Originally commissioned for HUBWeek 2017, Slideshow is a communal storytelling and photography series. The original iteration featured curated slide talks and an interactive photo exhibit created by the artist and ten Boston-area women. Each talk featured 25 images representing a week in the presenter's life.
Photo by Jean Hangarter
UPCOMING:
On March 24, 2018, Elisa Hamilton and the ten original women will reunite as part of the Life in Stories Festival, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to create an intimate, communal story-sharing space in the Museum’s Living Room.
“By reconnecting with analog technology that we can touch and hold, we are reminded of how, in its time, the original slideshow allowed the exchange of ideas in a whole new way. Slideshow provides an entry point to public consciousness and conversation about our universal connections to one another and how we can bridge gaps through sharing, listening, empathy, and dialogue.” — Elisa H. Hamilton
This project was produced in conjunction with HUBWeek.
Thrive, 2017
Supporting women and feminist expressions.
Thrive was a co-curated exhibition at The Beehive, in Boston, MA from September 13 — October 18, 2017 in celebration of the restaurant's 10th anniversary.
The eighteen paintings, photographs, and sculptures in Thrive championed feminist expressions in their subject matter and represented artists who are fiercely committed to non-traditional, collaborative artistic practices.
The eight artists in this all-female exhibition were chosen for the mastery of their craft, their stunning aesthetic, and their convictions. The works in this exhibition explore the power of female resilience and creativity—whether they are supporting incarcerated women, drawing attention to our impact on the environment, or lifting up the voices of underrepresented women. The exhibition artists support the production of knowledge that refuses to be reproduced in the dominant white cultural structure. Their work promotes social change and a world in which we can all thrive.
Thrive artist included Ann Lewis, Rania Matar, Maria Molteni, Chanel Thervil, Silvia López Chavez, Elisa H. Hamilton, Evelyn Rydz, and the Safarani Sisters (Farzaneh and Bahareh Safarani).
Thrive was co-curated by Jennifer Epstein and Kate Gilbert, founder and director of Now + There, and is part of Now + There’s Year of the Woman programming. The exhibition takes its name from one of the works in the exhibition, a word hidden in Ann Lewis’ collage “Objects of a Dehumanized World”.
Cover image: detail of "Shannon, Boston Massachusetts, 2010" by Rania Matar; courtesy of Carroll and Sons.
Public Trust Panel & Book Launch, 2017
On March 6, 2017 at District Hall in Boston's Seaport, with artist Paul Ramirez Jonas and the artist ambassadors, participants, and volunteers of Public Trust, we reflected on the 956 promises spoken, drawn in a contract, displayed on a billboard and now collected in print as the Public Trust book.
Audiences viewed the moving Public Trust documentary from RAVA Films. Paul Ramirez Jonas and panel of participants and artist ambassadors including Jimena Bermejo Black, Furen Dai, Maria Finkelmeier, Silvi Naci, Chanel Thervil, and Graham Yeager spoke with moderator Dan Byers, Mannion Family Senior Curator at the ICA, about their experiences making and facilitating promises during the 21-day run of Public Trust.
Watching Public Trust, the documentary.
Together, we looked critically at the promises made and their journey from hearts, to drawings, to a billboard and, now, to print. Among the evening’s highlights were surprises like that of participant Marcia, when she learned that the artist ambassadors facilitating each promise were scripted.
““You were very real. And that allowed me to be real.””
Graham, Marcia’s promise-taker, captured the magic of that first encounter at the table,
““The project materializes when someone chooses to sit. That’s the beautiful part.””
L-R: Silvi Naci, Chanel Thervil, Jimena Bermejo Black, Dan Byers, Paul Ramirez Jonas. Photo: Lidia Russell
For Martina, a volunteer and participant, the project was
““A call to be bigger than oneself.””
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY
Public Trust is published by APC in collaboration with Now + There with support from the Elizabeth Graham Firestone Foundation and distributed by D.A.P. Visit the Now + There store to purchase a copy.
L-R: Graham Yeager, Marcia Hulley, Martina Tanga, Silvi Naci, Chanel Thervil, Jimena Bermejo Black
A gift of trust. Photo: Lidia Russell
Joe, who promised to forgive his flaws, met Furen, who took his promise in Kendall. Joe told us, "I don't know anything about art, but I enjoyed myself."
The exhibition of promises, curated by Paul Ramirez Jonas
Public Trust, 2016 by Paul Ramirez Jonas
Considering the meaning of a promise
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, 2016 the final promise of Public Trust’s journey through Greater Boston was slowly written, one letter at a time, on the marque in Copley Square. That promise, “I promise to show up,” echoed the first one posted in Dudley 21 days earlier, “I will be a better citizen.”
Public Trust, the free interactive artwork by Brooklyn artist Paul Ramirez Jonas produced by Now + There, asked us to consider the meaning of a promise during a time when words matter. From August 27–September 17, Ramirez Jonas and a team of artist ambassadors went to three Greater Boston locations – Dudley, Kendall and Copley – and collected promises from 956 Bostonians.
Regardless of age, status, or race, Greater Boston residents and tourists alike added to the Public Trust marquee of constantly changing pledges – yours, mine, scientists’, and those of our presidential candidates. Together, we created a piece of art about promises, those contracts we make with with each other and with ourselves, and the potent speech acts that keep a society together.
Public Trust was generously supported by the Lewis Family Foundation, which believes that our communities grow stronger through artistic expression, and the generous contributions of individuals like you.
Public Trust, the book, is published by APC in collaboration with Now + There with support from the Elizabeth Graham Firestone Foundation and distributed by D.A.P.
Public Trust mini-documentary by RAVA Films.
![Public Trust in the Press [Updated]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/548f31e9e4b06e7ab9526659/1473303873711-Q4SE6GA1UDF2Q50WIYOP/Screen+Shot+2016-09-07+at+11.03.09+PM.png)
THE ARTIST
Paul Ramirez Jonas is no stranger to Boston. Born in California and raised in Honduras, Ramirez Jonas earned his BA from Brown University, his MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1989. He spent his first summer in the United States in Boston and later taught at the School of Museum of Arts/Tufts.
To engage completely with his projects, Ramirez Jonas often asks us, the participants, to contribute something: spare change, a wish…or even our own version of history. This reciprocity is a manifestation of trust and a social contract through which the viewer and artist create meaning.
His works have included large-scale monuments made of cork that allow impromptu messages to be pinned and creating new bodies of text. They’ve also included participatory pieces such as Cambridge’s Taylor Square, where he mailed 5,000 keys to the park to residents; and allowed them to shape the park’s future. This Boston based piece successfully led to Key to the City, a project presented by Creative Time in cooperation with the City of New York. Public Trust continues to build on his exploration of access, trust, and belonging.
Paul Ramirez Jonas' selected solo exhibitions include Pinacoteca do Estado, Sao Paulo, Brazil; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut; The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas; and a survey at Ikon Gallery (UK) and Cornerhouse (UK). He has been included in group exhibitions at P.S.1 (NYC); the Brooklyn Museum; The Whitechapel (UK); Irish Museum of Modern Art (Ireland); The New Museum (NYC); and Kunsthaus Zurich (Switzerland). He participated in the 1st Johannesburg Biennale; the 1st Seoul Biennial; the 6th Shanghai Biennial; the 28th Sao Paulo Biennial; the 53rd Venice Biennial; and the 7th Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. In 2010 his Key to the City project was presented by Creative Time in cooperation with the City of New York. The Contemporary Art Museum Houston is organizing a 25 year survey of his work to be presented in 2017. He is currently an Associate Professor at Hunter College, and The City University of New York (CUNY).
Explore Ramirez Jonas' work further by watching his October 2016 artist talk with Now + There and MassART.
THE SUPPORTERS
In 2015, the Lewis Family Foundation expanded its philanthropy into Boston's public art arena through the anonymous support of Now + There. Their support helped us establish firm roots and helped fund our first collaboration, "Faces of Dudley."
Now, we are thrilled to announce that the Lewis Family Foundation is provided full funding for Paul Ramirez Jonas’ Public Trust. With their generous support, we are able to bring this timely project about promises to three Greater Boston locations and provide the opportunity to use art to give voice.
The Lewis Family Foundation seeks to empower young people, develop courageous citizens and leaders, level the playing field for educational and job opportunities, and create strong strategic alliances. The Lewis Family Foundation believes that our communities grow stronger through artistic expression.
Thank you to our generous supporters who contributed in the last three months to support Public Trust and more projects like it.
Max and Beth Bardeen | Bonnie Bastien | Carly Blais | Boston Properties | William Cargill | Alberta Chu & Murray Robinson | Emily Day | Mark and Janet Edwards | Larry and Cheryl Franklin | Margaret Gilbert | Suzanne Gilbert Lee | Geoff Hargadon and Patricia La Valley | Hal and Jodi Hess| Beth Kantrowitz | Jeremey Liu | Robert Mason | Harry & Melinda Miller | Greer Muldowney | Daniel Ranalli | Jennifer Schmitt | Kathy and Gary Sharpless | Beth F. Terrana | Lisa Tung and Spencer Glendon | Natalie Williams | Anonymous (2)
Public Trust, 2016 (Copley)
September 11 — 17
Copley Square, Boston, was the final site of Public Trust, September 11–17, 2016. Click each thumbnail for more pictures from that time period. Read all the Copley promises here.
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Public Trust, 2016 (Kendall)
September 3-10
Kendall Center, Cambridge, was the second site of Public Trust, September 3–10, 2016. Click each thumbnail for more pictures from that time period. Read all the Kendall promises here.
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Public Trust, 2016 (Dudley)
August 27 - September 2
The Dudley Branch of the Boston Public Library, Roxbury, was the first site of Public Trust, from August 27–September 2, 2016. Click each thumbnail for more pictures from that time period. Read all the Dudley promises here.
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