Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design unveiled a new city artist-in-residence program Friday that will support eleven artists.
Eleven finalists were chosen from more than 100 submissions by a group of arts professionals, according to a Friday press release. The artists represent a variety of artistic disciplines, including dance, film and street art.
Walsh said the goal is to boost the artists’ civic involvement and the public’s access to the artists’ work.
“Boston AIR highlights the City’s dedication to finding new ways to incorporate innovative ideas and creative thinking into our work,” Walsh said in the release. “We are excited to have these artists-in-residence on board to help us enhance and integrate our cultural capital into our core city services, for the benefit of all of Boston’s residents.”
The program is part of Boston Creates, an ongoing effort to strengthen Boston’s creative capital and create a culturally vibrant and inclusive community, according to the program’s website. It is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support creative community development, the release stated.
Liaisons from a variety of city departments and offices including public works, education, women’s advancement and the Boston Police Department will work with the artists to design proposals for a city department, according to the release.
Roberto Mighty, one of the 11 chosen artists, said the variety of government agencies involved with the program is important because it emphasizes the importance of art in the community.
“It’s fantastic because there are some city departments that one wouldn’t normally think of as associated with art,” said Mighty, who is a film and visual artist. “How exciting it is that I could create something that would involve some of these departments in an artistic way they haven’t seen before.”
Mighty said this program exposes the community to art’s positive, unifying effects on its audience.
“If everyone were able to access art, it would help to draw communities together, reduce some of its boundaries,” Mighty said. “It can especially get rid of some of the socioeconomic boundaries in our city or any city.”
Boston’s population contributes to a wide spectrum of tastes in the arts, Mighty said.
“There are the traditional art lovers who go to traditional places like the MFA, then there are ‘hipster’ or more modern art lovers,” Mighty said. “Then there are all sorts of people in between. What is exciting about this initiative by the city is that it has the potential to bring all of these people together, which is awesome.”
Liz Nofziger, also a visual artist in the program who focuses on mixed media, said Boston’s art community is diverse and inclusive, which is a plus for the program’s potential for success in the community.
“In general, I think Boston is a very approachable city,” Nofziger said. “The art community is very collaborative and this team has a wide range of specialties, which will make for a broad spectrum of proposals and more interesting array of concepts.”
The collaborative sense of Boston’s art community will be reflected in this program and the results will benefit those who see the final works, Nofziger said.
“In our first meeting I felt a sense of community, I think we all want each other to succeed,” Nofziger said. “We will be cross-pollinating for this project and I can see relationships from this continuing for future collaborations.”
Nofziger said city department representatives were eager to work with the selected artists, making for a smooth transition for the artists into the departments.
“At the meeting, almost every different representative had a personal relationship with the arts,” she said. “We have the arts in common but different ways of solving problems, which expands our perspectives and ideas for the project.”
Several residents said they hope to see more art in the community.
Sara Durgerian, 35, of Fenway, said art should take more precedence in the city.
“I haven’t noticed much public art in Boston. I wish it was more prominent, because it could really add a little flair to the city,” she said. “Also, since everything in Boston is so old, it could be a nice contrast to brighten up the things you see, like old infrastructure.”
Matteus Demelo, 25, of Jamaica Plain, said he would like to see multiple forms of art throughout Boston.
“I see art and music out in public, especially music out on the street, I guess because of all the music in schools and the [Boston] Symphony Orchestra being here, it gets noticed the most. The MFA is popular and impressive, but having different types of art out in public could be a good balance for people.”
Greg Haig, 47, of Kenmore, said there appears to be a lack of public art.
“I see murals around, but wouldn’t say I see much public art. More public art could be great, liven up the streets and give people new things to see when they are walking around,” he said. “Boston is cultural in that it has deep roots in music and theater, but not too artistic. The arts scene is more traditional, it doesn’t go beyond the museums.”
