When:
Wednesday, Jul 20, 2022 12:00a -
Wednesday, Aug 31, 2022 12:00a

Where:
East Boston Social Center
68 Central Square
Boston, MA 02128

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
FREE

Hosted by:
joyraft.host32388 Ashley

Categories:
Art

With the intent to promote ideas of belonging and inclusion among immigrant communities in Boston, Now + There Public Art Accelerator Artist Yu-Wen Wu has created a light-based public art installation, We Belong, that debuts in East Boston on July 20. In LED neon, the work forms the text “We Belong, here, together, guided by the same stars” in an eight-foot circular sculptural art form with a constellation that maps and connects Boston’s neighborhoods.


The continuously-lit piece begins its city-wide journey at the East Boston Social Center, where the city’s early immigration centers were located, and will move onto other diverse neighborhoods across Boston in the future. All are welcome to celebrate the opening party on Wed. July 20, East Boston Social Center, 68 Central Square. Wu will participate in a community meet-and-greet from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will be a panelist for EBSC’s “Mission Joy” film screening and panel discussion.

“Two years in the making, We Belong is an exciting push for my practice in public art and another opportunity to experiment with light-based media,” said the artist Yu-Wen Wu. “I am so excited to bring the installation to East Boston, a neighborhood with vibrant culture, tight-knit community, and important history. I hope the work will help to initiate dialogue on belonging and inclusion among all communities in Boston.”


Wu is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Boston. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Wu’s subjectivity as an immigrant is central to her artwork. Arriving in the United States at an early age, her experiences have shaped her work in areas of migration—examining issues of displacement, arrival, assimilation, and the shape of identity in a new country. Passionate about data, mapping, and its storytelling, Wu’s work lies at the crossroads of art, science, politics, and social issues. Her wide range of projects include large-scale drawings, sculpture, site-specific video installations, community-engaged practices, and public art. Wu has been awarded numerous grants, exhibited nationally and internationally and is included in several private and public collections.


With the support of a Boston Transformative Public Art grant, We Belong will travel to multiple Boston neighborhoods in 2022-2023. Through community events at each site and digital engagement opportunities, local residents will be invited to participate in the project by sharing what the concept of “belonging” means to them.


“We are all about creating visionary new works for the city and highlighting inclusivity,” said Kate Gilbert, Executive Director of Now + There. “Yu-Wen Wu’s installation emphasizes a welcoming spirit to residents, new and old, who have come here to Boston to make this their home.”


Now + There’s Public Art Accelerator program grants Boston-based artists a $25,000 stipend along with a six-month curriculum to help them with curatorial, technical, and financial support as they develop new temporary and site-specific works of art for the neighborhoods of Boston. Applications for the next cohort of Accelerator Artists are being accepted now. Please visit https://www.nowandthere.org/accelerator.


ABOUT NOW + THERE: Now + There (N+T) is a non-profit public art curator changing the landscape with temporary and site-specific public artworks. Through its curatorial efforts, N+T is transforming Boston into a public art city by creating a portfolio of projects that supports artistic risk-taking, community dialogue, and cultural change. Fostering artists of many diverse backgrounds and inspiring the public to create bold art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston is the organization’s goal, resulting in a more open, equitable, and vibrant city. (www.nowandthere.org).


MEDIA CONTACT: Taylor Hallabuk, 570-637-3440; [email protected]

Share this event

Add to:

Reddit
07/20/2022 00:00:00 08/31/2022 00:00:00 America/New_York Now + There Accelerator Artist Yu-Wen Wu welcomes all in Boston with neon light installation: We Belong <p>With the intent to promote ideas of belonging and inclusion among immigrant communities in Boston, Now + There Public Art Accelerator Artist Yu-Wen Wu has created a light-based public art instal... East Boston Social Center, Boston, MA 02128 false MM/DD/YYYY