Join us for the unveiling of Breathe Life: 8piphany by Rob “Problak” Gibbs, honoring youth, hope, and the power of presence and pride.

Please join us for the Closing Reception of Kate Holcomb Hale’s solo exhibition "Support Structures." The event will start at 5 p.m. at the Mezzanine Gallery located at the top of the stairs on the 3rd floor and will have a performance by dancers MacKenzie LeTorré and Nora Stephens at 6 p.m.

The event will start at 5 p.m. at the Mezzanine Gallery located at the top of the stairs on the 3rd floor. Don’t miss your chance to connect with the artists and enjoy some light refreshments!

Directions: Please use the entrance located on Congress St, across from Faneuil Hall. Pass security and take the elevators to the 3rd floor. The event will take place at the top of the stairs. For more information please visit the City Hall Galleries page.

Photo by Wenchell Pierre.

Join us for a public conversation at Ramsay Park about Airfoil/Captain David Ramsay Memorial by Reginald Jackson and Valerie Maynard. We welcome you to attend this conversation as we sit down with a former Vietnam vet, Haywood Fennell Sr., as he speaks about his time in Vietnam and shares his thoughts on what and how we can help the veteran community.

All are welcome to this free and public event!

*This public conversation is part of the National Center of Afro-American Artists' new project, FINDING OURSELVES IN PUBLIC SPACES: An Un-monument Project, and it is funded by The Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture's Un-monument Initiative, supported by a grant from The Mellon Foundation.

Haywood Fennell, Sr., born in Harlem, NY, joined the US Army for six years during the Vietnam War as an Information Specialist and photographer. He is a community organizer and educator using the principle of collaboration to get things done. Haywood is a staunch advocate for Veterans rights. He is the Founder of Tri-Ad Veterans League, a volunteer Veterans organization involved in cultural enrichment programs and literacy.

Join Pao Arts Center, Ecosistema Urbano, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway as we say goodbye to PlanTable with a final celebration.

(Rain date Sunday, 10/19, from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.)

Over the past three months,  a variety of visitors of all ages have enjoyed the shade provided by the 16 trees, community members have connected with friends and family with additional benches and seating, and learned more about climate change through  a historical temperature timeline on the table.

Stop by to enjoy family-friendly activities, meet the architects and community partners that made this project come alive in Chin Park.

Join us for a full day of activities for kids and families in Downtown Boston! We can’t wait to welcome our partners to Color Flows on Winter Street:

DOGGONE HALLOWEEN PET PARADE

Come to Downtown Crossing for Boston's most beloved Halloween dog costume parade, hosted by the Downtown Boston Alliance! There will be a dog-themed vendor village, a photo booth, face painting, free treats for all, and more! There will be grand prizes for winners of: Best Costume, Cutest Costume, Scariest Costume, Best Dog and Human Duo, Best Dog and Child Duo.

BOSTON CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

Stop by the Boston Children’s Museum table for giveaways, games, and to learn how you can get free admission to Boston’s leading cultural institutions through Boston Family Days.

CHOWDERFEST

The annual Chowderfest from Conventures, Inc. features unique takes on the iconic New England dish and culminates in a public vote to select the fan favorite!

ABOUT COLOR FLOWS ON WINTER STREET

This fall, Winter Street is coming alive with Color Flows, a six-week, family-friendly street transformation that will create a vibrant, welcoming space within the heart of Downtown. Color Flows is part of the City of Boston’s broader effort to reimagine how our streets and pedestrian zones can be safer, more engaging, and more enjoyable for all.  

Select Markets is bringing 50 vendors to Downtown Boston in collaboration with the City of Boston and the Downtown Boston Alliance as part of Color Flows on Winter Street! Come check out what Boston’s fashion designers, curators, and small businesses have to offer while enjoying a bite from the food truck line up and beats by local DJs.

ABOUT SELECT MARKETS

Select is more than a market. It's a community. Founded in 2023 to bring more curated and lively experiences to Boston's youth, Select Markets blends fashion, music, and culture into immersive monthly events that draw up to 8,000 people at a time.

ABOUT COLOR FLOWS ON WINTER STREET

This fall, Winter Street is coming alive with Color Flows, a six-week, family-friendly street transformation that will create a vibrant, welcoming space within the heart of Downtown. Color Flows is part of the City of Boston’s broader effort to reimagine how our streets and pedestrian zones can be safer, more engaging, and more enjoyable for all.  

Join artist Audrey Watkins at the intersection of River Street and Babson Street from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. on October 18, for Our Names, an interactive art project that asks, "Whose name would you put on a building?" Stop by to submit a name, pick up a card, and learn more about some of the figures currently named on the exterior of the Boston Public Library. Our Names by artist Audrey Watkins explores the practice of naming the Boston Public Library McKim Meade and White Building. When Charles Follen McKim designed the facades for the Boston Public Library in 1888, he included the names of 537 “writers and thinkers” that would be displayed to passersby for the next century. Of those 537 names, only 21 are not white European males. The goal of this project is twofold: to formally present the histories of those 21 names to the public through a research booklet, and to spark conversations on the names that today's Bostonians want to see on the library’s facade.

Through a series of activations during Mattapan Open Streets, a list of publicly gathered names derived from the prompt, “Whose name would you put on a building?” These activations will be a form of tabling, where a small portable gallery will show the content of the research booklet as well as the prompt, for passersby to engage in reflection on nearby monuments and imagine what a monument could be in 2025. 

Written and oral responses will be recorded, and translations of the prompt and the booklet will be provided. The artist will collect public response, including any further conversations sparked by the prompt. With consent, these responses will be gathered into an index for the booklet. This index and the booklet will be published together on an Internet Archive, as a lasting “re-monument” to McKim’s original design, that can easily be linked to existing articles on the building and the building’s facade.

Learn more about her project here.

Join us for Hidden Histories' In Conversation: Kameelah Janan Rasheed with Curator-in-Residence Dr. Leonie Bradbury. Rasheed’s latest project in Boston is a series of public poems displayed on billboards and public advertising locations across the city. Come listen and be in conversation with this incredible artist and hear about her practice of text-based art, animations and the moving image.

Celebrate the unveiling of P.L.A.Y. (Participatory Learning and You)—a new public art project at Dewitt Playground in Madison Park, designed by artist Marlon Forrester in collaboration with Studio Luz and BR+A+CE. The project reimagines the basketball court as both a neighborhood gathering space and a living canvas. Alongside the ribbon cutting, experience Out of Bounds, a live art showcase curated by Marlon Forrester, with activations that bring artists, coaches, and neighbors together.

Come for the ribbon cutting, stay for the joy.

RSVP for the event

What’s Going Down

• Ribbon cutting and unveiling of P.L.A.Y. with Marlon Forrester, Studio Luz, BR+A+CE, City partners, and Madison Park/BPS community
• Out of Bounds court activations led by teaching artists and coaches
• Live DJ and performances that move us to reflect
• Hands-on art stations for kids and grown-ups, beginners welcome
• Community tables with resources, programs, and ways to get involved
• Local food vendors on site

Play by Play

11 a.m. - Opening remarks

12 p.m. - Ribbon cutting and group photo

12:30 p.m. - Showcase and live performances

1 p.m. - Afrofuturism / The Court as Canvas: Sport, Design, and the Architecture of Black Imagination curated by Nucarta

2 p.m.  - Tunes by your favorite DJs

3 p.m.  - Youth basketball activation

5 p.m. - Closing word

Meet Us Here

Dewitt Playground at Madison Park, Roxbury

Enter near Dewitt Drive and Malcolm X Boulevard. Follow the wayfinding and the sound of good music.

Need the T?

• Transit: Roxbury Crossing (Orange Line), Bus 15, 22, 23, 28, 44, 45
• Bikes: Bluebike stations nearby + racks (bring a lock)
• Parking: Limited neighborhood street parking — transit or rideshare encouraged

Accessibility

The site has paved paths, curb cuts, and seating. ASL available by request — email (arts@boston.gov) by September 22. A low-sensory area will be located near the info table.

Gratitude

Presented by the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Nucarta, Studio Luz, BR+A+CE, and artist Marlon Forrester. With production support by SIDE Presents. Thank you to Madison Park/BPS, neighbors, volunteers, and partners who make this day possible.

Photos on this page by Jane Messinger.

Join us for a spectacular event celebrating the launch of Emerson Contemporary’s public art exhibition Hidden Histories featuring art projects by Elisa Hamilton, Clareese Hill, Sue Murad, and Kameelah J. Rasheed. Artist will be present to discuss their unique works and visitors can partake in student led walking tours of the projects. Part of the City of Boston’s Un-Monument initiative to transform and expand Boston’s conversation around public art, monuments, and who should be memorialized and why.