2018 Public Space Invitational: Community Gardens

In summer 2018, we called for innovative design installations at three community gardens.

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For the 2018 competition, we focused on community gardens. The competition was a collaboration between:

New Urban Mechanics, and
The Trustees.

You can learn more about the contest — and the projects — below.

Still have questions? Contact:
New Urban Mechanics

617-635-0044

send an email

1 City Hall Square
603

Boston, MA 02201
United States
Public Space Invitational

Our open call for temporary and delightful interventions in the public realm.

Invitational information

Background

For this competition, we called for installations at three community gardens:

Nightingale Community Garden in Dorchester
Chilcott and Granada Community Garden in Jamaica Plain, and
the Fenway Victory Gardens.

The three winning projects connected neighborhoods and the gardens. They supported talks and storytelling, dinners, and theater.

Outcome

The Trustees partnered with the three artist teams to run 12 more community programs. They also saw a 20 percent increase in engagement with local residents.

Trailer Made

Trailer Made is a solar-powered, towable, modular community gathering space. The goal was to spark creativity and community growth. The project relied on locally sourced and recycled materials.

The structure featured:

an events space with tables and chairs
interactive "planter" sculptures
educational panels with chalkboards
electricity and lighting for events, and
a phone-charging station.

Project location:

Fenway Victory Gardens
Chilcott and Granada Community Garden
Nightingale Community Garden

Proposed by: Andrea Fossa and Robert Barella

Cross Pollination

Cross Pollination was a project at the Nightingale Community Garden. The project shared cultural and garden resources between:

gardeners and wildlife
local poets, and
Boston's residents.

Cross Pollination is the creation of:

Claudia Paraschiv, a registered architect
Annie Scott, an ecological landscape designer, and
Azia Carle, a fine artist.

With the help of the community, the artists created pollinator-pots. They planted the pots with native flowers. The goal was to attract bees and butterflies that would benefit the gardens.

The pots were "planted" with African print fabrics that created "shade flowers" for gardeners. These shade flowers also attracted residents walking by with their bright colors and poetic messages. Planting and shade-flower making were among the planned community events.

Proposed by:

Claudia Paraschiv
Annie Scott
Azia Carle

Location: Nightingale Community Garden

Celebrate and Activate

Nightingale Community Garden features gardeners from more than a dozen countries. Celebrate and Activate honored the diversity of the garden through:

interactive theater performances, and
the creation of banners based on national flags.

Melissa Nussbaum-Freeman, Director of Red Sage Stories, led the project with Ayako Maruyama, Creativity Lab Design Lead at ds4si. The project also used the compost area of the garden for:

interactive storytelling (on the themes of sowing, weeding, harvesting, and composting)
colorful art installations
activities for children, and
sharing food at four garden-cycle themed events..