TRANSFORMATION
Our Story
We began in 2015 as Now + There, connecting bold, free, and contemporary public art to Boston communities. Now, nine years later, we are Boston Public Art Triennial, the city’s first and only public art organization dedicated to supporting artists and communities in bold, contemporary, public art.
Our transformation proves the impact of public art in changing lives.
Our Mission
To foster relationships between artists and the public to create bold public art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston, resulting in a more open, equitable, and vibrant city.
Our Vision
Boston Public Art Triennial will become recognized locally, nationally, and globally for presenting public art as a critical catalyst for open community engagement, equitable social change, and a contributor to the cultural and economic vibrancy of a city.
Our Values
Our Board, Staff, Partners, and the artists we collaborate with are Bold, Open, and Sharp. Our works are always free and open to the public.
Why a Triennial?
Boston, not unlike other cities in America, suffers from a prevailing narrative that it is an economically, racially, and culturally closed city. The Triennial’s mission changes that story through annual public art commissions and a focused citywide experience, a triennial, every three years.
Who We Are
To open up a city, change conversations, and remake perceptions requires a team of dedicated, diverse, and passionate staff, board, and advisory groups committed to bold, contemporary public art.
STAFF
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Charles Bent
Operations Director
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Jamison Cloud
Operations Manager
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Morgan Collins
Project Manager
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Leo Crowley
Project and Exhibitions Director
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Amor Díaz-Campos
Curatorial Fellow
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Kate Gilbert
Executive Director
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Emerson Holloway
Partnerships and Engagement Associate
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Catherine Horan
Communications Manager
Read Bio
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Gisela Levy
Development Manager
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Jasper Sanchez
Assistant Curator
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Marguerite Wynter
Director of Partnerships and Engagement
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Natasha Zinos
Communications Associate
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jesse Baerkahn
President and Founder,
Graffito SP
Silvia López Chavez
Artist
Michele Davis
Executive Coach
Leadership and Talent Development
Sabrina Dorsainvil
Artist and Director of Design Strategy and Creative Practice, AGNCY
Mathieu Gaulin
Arts and Education Supporter
Lee Ann Gilligan
Former CFO, Tripleseat Software LLC.
Charla Jones
Founder and CEO, Eu2Be
Nourishing Skincare
Natalie Lemle
Founder,
art_works
Kathy Sharpless
Communications Consultant and
Arts and Education Supporter
Matt Thoms
Co-Founder and General Partner, Baukunst
Lisa Tung
Executive Director, MassArt
Art Museum (MAAM)
Natalie Williams
Consultant
EMERITUS BOARD
Chris Colbert
Audrey Foster
The Triennial Advisory Group is a non-voting group that believes in the power of public art and a free citywide celebration of contemporary art to spark change in Boston.
TRIENNIAL ADVISORY GROUP
Jennifer Epstein
Controlling Manager, Boston Unity Soccer Partners/NWSL Boston
Cher Krause Knight
Professor of Art History, Emerson College
Catherine T. Morris
Founder of BAMS; Director, Arts and Creativity at the Boston Foundation
Robin Powell Mandjes
Partner, Russell Philanthropies
Paul Ramírez Jonas
Artist, Professor, Art Department Chair, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Cornell University
Leslie Riedel
Arts Supporter
Rixy
Artist
Abigail Satinsky
Program Officer and Curator, Arts & Culture at Wagner Foundation
Emi Winterer
Arts Supporter
CURATORIAL ADVISORY GROUP
An esteemed Curatorial Advisory Group advises Triennial 2025 curators on the theme and artist selection.
Ian Alteveer
Beal Family Chair, Department
of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dan Byers
John R. and Barbara
Robinson Family Director,
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts,
Harvard University
Jeffrey De Blois
Associate Curator and Publications Manager,
Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Jose Falconi
Professor of Arts and Human Rights
University of Connecticut, Storrs;
President, Cultural Agents, Inc.
Karin Goodfellow
Director of Public Art,
City of Boston
Mary Jane Jacob
Director, Institute for Curatorial Research and Practice,
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Jessica May
Executive Director, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kymberly Pinder
Professor of Art
and History of Art,
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dean,
Yale School of Art
Trevor Smith
Associate Director,
Multisensory Experience,
Curator of the Present Tense,
Peabody Essex Museum
Lisa Tung
Executive Director,
MassArt Art Museum (MAAM)
and Triennial Board member
COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP
A Community Advisory Group, compensated for their participation, shapes The Triennial 2025 and engages community members through diverse programming for all neighborhoods to enjoy.
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Olawumi Akinwumi
Roxbury Community Captain
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Johane Alexis-Phanor
Mattapan Community Captain
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Farah Lachmi
East Boston Community Captain
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Magdiela Matta
Roslindale and East Boston Community Captain
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Alfredo Muñoz
South End Community Captain
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Tanya Nixon-Silberg
Roxbury and Jamaica Plain Community Captain
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Edosa Osemwegie
Mattapan Community Captain
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Audrey Seraphin
Allston Community Captain
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Anny Thach
Dorchester Community Captain
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Long Tong
Roslindale and Jamaica Plain Community Captain
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Sean Webster
Roxbury Community Captain
OUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS + COMMITMENTS
Places, People + Promises
At Boston Public Art Triennial, justice is core to our mission of fostering artists and the public to co-create bold public art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston, resulting in a more open, equitable, and vibrant city.
Achieving our mission takes a community. Together, we are building a public art city where practicing radical collaboration and inclusion in the production of life-affirming art can flex the muscles needed to imagine new, equitable ways of living together. The more diverse and inclusive we are, the better our work will be. Creating a culture of equity is the right thing to do, and it will strengthen our work and our impact and help us achieve our vision: A public art city defined as open, vibrant, and equitable with bold, temporary art in all of Boston’s neighborhoods.
The following are the acknowledgments and commitments that drive our work of partnering with people and places.
PROMISES
Diversity
We commit to increasing the racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, physical ability, sexual preference, and neurodiversity of all we employ (e.g., staff, vendors), those who contribute to decision-making (e.g., Board, Ambassadors), and those we partner with (e.g., program contributors) so that the artworks we create are inclusive and representative of the demographics and conversations being held by today’s Bostonians.
Inclusion + Belonging
We will seek out communities of color, Black, and Indigenous Peoples in the co-creation of experiences and audiences. We commit to commissioning at least 50% of our annual projects from self-identifying BIPOC artists.
Transparency
By adhering to bold, open communication and clearly defined roles (often co-developed), responsibilities, and shared goals, we treat partners with dignity and respect. We build and earn trust.
Co-creation
Boston Public Art Triennial commits to co-creating bold, contemporary artworks that open minds, spaces, and conversations with the aim of creating a more vibrant and equitable city. We acknowledge we are learning and encourage our partners and audiences to work alongside us, provide feedback, and hold us accountable for imagining new models of cultural production.
PLACES
Unceded Land
We acknowledge that we operate on the unceded land of the past, current, and future Massachusett tribe and the painful history of their forced removal. We recognize this is a performative gesture and commit to listening to all who represent the original peoples of what is now eastern Massachusetts and ways we can stand in solidarity with them.
Systemic Oppression
We recognize the deliberate and systemic oppression that has created a legacy of urban renewal and transit disinvestment and work to overcome them.
Colonialism
Like many American cities, Boston’s wealth and legacy were built on Colonialism, erasure, and the oppression of peoples, including the brutal system of chattel slavery.
Eurocentricity
We also acknowledge that the art world that we operate in is inherently hierarchical, dominated by a Eurocentric view, and privileges those who traditionally have had power, access, and capital.
Staff
50% BIPOC
Board
45% BIPOC
We hold ourselves accountable to non-discriminatory hiring and recruitment practices to all those we collaborate with in the production of public art experiences. By adhering to bold, open communication and clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and shared goals, we treat partners with dignity and respect. We build and earn trust.