On September 23, 2019, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the North Square project team and the North End community celebrated the completed reconstruction of Boston’s oldest public square. North Square is the location of many sites of local and national historical significance: Paul Revere House, Mariners House, Sacred Heart Church, numerous other historic buildings and The Freedom Trail. Now it is also home to Boston’s newest permanent public artwork, A+J Art+Design’s North Square Stories. A+J joined the project team of the Boston Public Works Department (PWD), BETA Group Inc., and the Boston Art Commission of the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, and the project broke ground on October 11, 2017.
In collaboration with the North End community, A+J Art+Design developed a series of four sculptures in bronze to create an intimate and uniquely North End sculptural gallery. North Square Stories melds the Square’s multi-layered history with its contemporary use, to create a welcoming space that is both convenient to use and informative to visit.
The cycle of sculptures highlights North Square as a small square with a big view of Boston and a big place in history, as well as the site of many intertwined stories about the endless variety of people who have called North Square their home. The site-specific sculptures are placed in relation to key architectural features around the Square. Each sculpture echoes the character of the Square as a small space looking outwards to a big view.
PROJECT TEAM
A+J Art+Design
Artist Team
A+J Art+Design is a multidisciplinary collaboration between artists Ann Hirsch and Jeremy Angier who believe that public art can provoke and entice while inspiring civic engagement.
Boston Art Commission and the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture
City of Boston Arts Board
The Boston Art Commission (BAC) with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture administers the Percent for Art Program which sets aside one percent of the City’s annual capital borrowing budget for the commissioning of public art.
Boston Public Works Department with BETA, Inc.
Project Lead and Design Consultants
The Boston Public Works Department (BPWD) will be making site improvements to North Square in collaboration with Design Consultants BETA Group, Inc.
Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services
Community Advisory Panel
Plans are underway for opening discussions about progress and soliciting feedback and other forms of involvement in the project. If you live in the North End and would like to join the Advisory panel, please follow the link to sign up.