Eight new temporary public art projects coming to Dudley Square

“The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, named after Bruce Bolling, the first African-American president of the Boston City Council, will be the next great building in Boston,” says Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “Opening late next year as a 150,000-square-foot municipal center with retail and office space, it is a critical step in the ongoing economic revitalization of Dudley Square, using the neighborhood’s past as a foundation to build its future. These pop-up public art projects from area artists are visual and dynamic ways to signal positive changes in the neighborhood.”

“Boston is one of the oldest U.S. cities, yet is well known for its climate of transformation,” says Karin Goodfellow, Director of the Boston Art Commission. “We are a city that moves between convention and innovation and Dudley Square is currently at the apex of the city’s transformation. We believe that public art is an expression of our passionate ideals, intellectual curiosity, and cultural narrative. Engaging the public in a lively and ongoing discussion on public art as an integral part of city life.”

Partners on “Pop Up! Dudley Connections” include Discover Roxbury, Dudley Square Main Streets, Department of Neighborhood Development, Boston Parks & Recreation Department, The Boston Public Library, Bryana Siobhan, Helina Metaferia, Alejandro Pinto, Artward Bound with Fish McGill and Carolyn Lewenberg of Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Darrell Ann-Gane McCalla, James Ovid Mustin, Ricardo Gomez, and Thomas Burns with Alliger Arts, Irene Smalls, and Nathaniel Wyrick.

Details about the permanent public art projects at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building will be shared this fall.

The public and performance art projects that make up “Pop Up! Dudley Connections” include:

 

Darrell Ann Gane-McCalla with Shea Justice & Cassandra Cato-Louis: Change, Loss, and Gain in Dudley

Dates: August 15 and 20 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Location: Justice Gourdin Park, intersection of Mt. Washington Ave and Malcolm X Blvd, Roxbury, MA, 02119

Darrell Ann Gane-McCalla lives in Cambridge and is an artist committed to radical social change, promoting art as a vital element in the struggle for human rights and in the creation of new ways of living. Her own practice is primarily sculpture, illustration, and mixed media. Her community collaborations are mainly murals, mosaics, and workshops. Gane-McCalla believes that art can change perceptions; create spaces for dialogue, instill senses of possibility, and add vibrancy, meaning, and direction to our lives.

 

Bryana Siobhan: Untitled

Dates and times: August 19, 21, 26, and 28 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Location: Sidewalk in front of Haley House at 12 Dade Street in Roxbury, MA 02119

Emerging artist Bryana Siobhan is currently a Masters Candidate at the School of the Museum of Fine Art of Boston and an Alumni of the Corcoran College of Art + Design with a Bachelors in Fine Art. She lives and works in Roxbury as a performance artist, founder of Revolutionary Performance, a performance art archive, and as a founding member of Petrichor Performance Collective. Working in the topic of US-centric social politics regarding race, gender, and mental health, Siobhan draws cultural cues and signifiers from the African-American, Afro-Cuban, and indigenous American (NDN) cultures.

 

Irene Smalls: Doing the Dutch Down Dudley

Date and time: August 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Dudley Town Common Park

Irene Smalls (http://www.irenesmalls.com/irenesmalls.com/Welcome.html), BA, MBA, lives in Back Bay and is an award-winning author, storyteller, and historian. Smalls’ presentations include core components of literacy instruction for students K-5 using a variety of instructional approaches: reading aloud, word study, shared reading, and movement. For older students she discusses the publishing business, the writing process, and the job of being a writer and risk taking. Smalls is the author of 15 children's books and 3 interactive storytelling CDs.

 

Artward Bound with Fish McGill & Carolyn Lewenberg: Art & Social Change: Dudley Kiosk

Installation date: August 18

Location: Justice Gourdin Park, intersection of Mt. Washington Ave and Malcolm X Blvd, Roxbury, MA, 02119

Artward Bound is a four-year college access program in the visual arts. At home on MassArt's campus, Artward Bound prepares youth in 8th-12thgrades with the artistic and academic skills needed for admission to and success at an art or design college or other post-secondary institution. Artward Bound balances artistic development with academic progress to establish confidence in education.

 

Nathaniel Wyrick: Papaw Passing Time II

Dates and times:

• August 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• August 29, 31, September 1, 2, and 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

• September 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Location: in front of Dudley Square Branch Library, 65 Warren Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

Nathaniel Wyrick is a multidisciplinary artist that is currently living and working in Jamaica Plain. Wyrick’s work is autobiographical in nature. Much of Wyrick’s work is concerned with the exploration of identity, masculinity, and sexuality, especially in relation to memory. This approach has been guiding Wyrick in the creation of objects or performances that draw from a fraction of a much larger image or issue.

 

Helina Metaferia: These Words Matter

Date and time: August 23 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Location: Dudley Square Branch Library, 65 Warren Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

Helina Metaferia lives in Roxbury and is an Ethiopian-American fine artist specializing in mixed media visual artwork. She works with themes of power, self-realization, and divine femininity. Her art has been shown in museums and galleries nationwide, and has also completed over 20 large-scale murals in the Washington, DC region. Helina received her formal art education at Temple University's Tyler School of Art and at Morgan State University, where she obtained her Bachelors Degree in Fine Art. Helina is currently a Masters Candidate at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

 

Alejandro Pinto: Untitled. (Portrait of Malcolm X)

Date: Installation in early-September

Location: 2201 Washington Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

Alejandro Pinto lives in Hyde Park and attended Mass College of Art and Design, majoring in Film and Illustration. He has completed legal graffiti art projects in Roxbury (Bartlett Yard), Dorchester (Dorchester Baseball, The Murphy Middle School, Cavata Clothing, Beantown Athletics, Crossfit 617), and South Boston (F-15 Training Center and Peter Welch's Boxing Gym). Pinto’s work can be seen on The Travel Channel's “No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain” and television show “The Fighters.”

 

James Ovid Mustin, Ricardo Gomez, Thomas Burns: Untitled (Nelson Mandela Mural)

Date: Install/Painting will begin in early September

Location: Wall at intersection of Warren & Clifford Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

James Ovid Mustin is a Roxbury/Jamaica Plain-based painter, printmaker, and muralist, inspired by and integrated in the physical environment around him. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and his works can be found in numerous private and public collections, including the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Ricardo Gomez (DEME 5) is a native of the Dominican Republic, currently living in Dorchester. DEME5 [dem-fiv] draws inspiration from his gritty environment, using a keen sense of design and stylized vision to transform any surface put before him. Although aerosol is his primary medium, he often incorporates different mediums to execute his ideas.  His future goals include exhibiting at contemporary institutions, collaborating with like-minded artists, and sharing his work with the people of Boston and the world.

Thomas Burns is born and raised in Boston. He is an artist that works in a variety of mediums and has worked on murals throughout the city as well as displayed his art in local galleries.

Dudley Square is accessible by MBTA via the Silver Line and numerous bus lines. On street parking is available throughout Dudley Square.

For additional information, call 617-635-3245 or visit boston.gov/arts.

About the Boston Art Commission

The Boston Art Commission, established in 1890, exercises legal authority to approve and site new public art on property owned by the City of Boston. The Art Commission has care and custody of all paintings, murals, statues, bas-reliefs, sculptures, monuments, fountains, arches and other permanent structures intended for ornament or commemoration on City property. The Art Commission is appointed by the Mayor and consists of eight Boston residents, each nominated by a Boston cultural institution. Art Commission meetings are held on the first Tuesday afternoon of each month.

About Discover Roxbury

Discover Roxbury promotes civic engagement and economic development in Roxbury through tours and events that leverage the community's artistic, cultural, historic, and culinary assets.

About Dudley Square Main Streets

Dudley Square Main Streets Revitalization Corporation is a commercial revitalization organization located in Boston’s historic Dudley Square Commercial District, “the Heart and Soul of Roxbury.” Since 1995, Main Streets has worked to recruit new businesses, assist businesses with storefront renovations; provide technical assistance to business owners; work with developers on large anchor parcels, and celebrate the rich cultural diversity and history of the district.