The inaugural Boston Public Art Triennial—now on view through October 2025—marks a bold new chapter in the city’s cultural life. Titled The Exchange, the Triennial brings together 15 artist-driven, site-specific public artworks across Boston neighborhoods including East Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. As a city-wide invitation to pause, reflect, and engage, the Triennial asks what’s possible when artists are empowered to shape civic space.
Rather than a one-off event, The Exchange models a new approach to public art—one that is collaborative, community-rooted, and systemically impactful. Its emphasis on immersive works, created in conversation with site and social context, points to a future where public art doesn’t simply decorate a city—it transforms how it functions.
The artists selected represent an extraordinary cross-section of contemporary practice and global perspectives. Participants include Julian Charrière (Berlin), Beatriz Cortez (Los Angeles), Cannupa Hanska Luger (New Mexico), Nicholas Galanin (Alaska), Lan Tuazon (Chicago), and Boston-based artists like Gabriel Sosa, Stephen Hamilton, Andy Li, and Evelyn Rydz. Together, these artists activate public space through cross-disciplinary methods—from sculpture and performance to social practice and sound.
The Exchange is an artist-driven and expert-supported exhibition of extraordinary cross-disciplinary public art projects that break down social and professional barriers to promote collaboration and strengthen community resilience.
By distributing the artworks across neighborhoods—and intentionally including historically underserved communities—the Triennial moves beyond the centralized, downtown model. It reframes Boston’s cultural identity around creative exchange, shared ownership, and accessibility. Public art becomes not only a visual experience, but a tool for civic dialogue and connection.
One of the Triennial’s most compelling anchors is its integration with the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a 1.5-mile stretch of public park threading through the city’s core. Already a hub for public art, the Greenway acts as a connective spine—linking installations, neighborhoods, and audiences. Its pedestrian flow and green infrastructure align perfectly with the Triennial’s goals of slow engagement, environmental responsiveness, and spatial equity.
The economic ripple effects of The Exchange are also significant. By drawing visitors locally and internationally, the Triennial is poised to generate major foot traffic for surrounding businesses and neighborhoods. By positioning Boston as a global destination for public art, the Triennial could also attract future investments in cultural infrastructure and creative industries. Its emphasis on hiring local fabricators, designers, and cultural workers ensures that creative investment stays within the community—supporting a sustainable cultural economy.
The Triennial’s mission is 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.
With The Exchange, Boston joins the ranks of global cities leading a shift in how public art is conceived and delivered. It offers a vision of public art as not just a backdrop to urban life, but a catalyst for rethinking how we live together.
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