We’re postponing… but! In response to the Massachusetts’s Governor’s guidance in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’re postponing this event. In the meantime, however, we’re still thinking about these important issues, and know you are, too. We invite you to sign up here to receive occasional emails on this and related topics. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to being in touch!

How might creative acts of remembering and imagining in public help us reframe the past and present–and see more inclusive futures?

Join the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) for a conversation that explores the power of public art to catalyze critical dialogue around public memory, representation, and belonging, and to transform public life. You’ll hear from artists, curators, and organizers who use creative strategies to reframe public memory and imagine future possibilities for more inclusive, thriving spaces and communities.

Guest Speakers:

Paul Farber – Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Public Art and Space at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design (keynote speaker and moderator)
Erin Genia (Dakota/ Odawa) – Multidisciplinary artist, educator and cultural worker specializing in Indigenous arts and culture
Kate Gilbert – Executive Director of Now + There
Stephen Hamilton – Artist and educator, based in Boston

This event is part of a series organized by the MAPC’s Arts and Culture Department and NEFA’s Public Art Department in conjunction with MAPC’s MetroCommon 2050 planning process. This unique, cross-sector initiative brings together artists and creators, planners, and policymakers to discuss the evolving relationship among public art, public memory, and public policy and to explore how artists can envision and shape more inclusive, thriving spaces and communities in Greater Boston.

Join the Mass. Association of Regional Planning Agencies and Division of Local Services to hear from special guests Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, the Governor’s former Chief of Staff, Steve Kadish, as well as Secretaries Tesler, Acosta, Kennealy and Card about how to make the most of unprecedented infrastructure modernization resources and build a firm foundation for our Commonwealth’s future. Click here to register.

“Building the Foundation for our Future: Equitable Infrastructure Modernization in Massachusetts” will be hosted at College of the Holy Cross on Thursday, September 29, 2022.

After remarks from the Governor and Lt. Governor, we’ll welcome to the stage Secretaries Tesler, Acosta, Kennealy and Card to talk about the potential available funding in each of their fields, and how communities can work with the Commonwealth to make the most of this funding, followed by a brief audience Q&A.

Afternoon workshops led by senior administration officials and local leaders from across the Commonwealth provide the chance, among other things, to dive deeper into these funding opportunities, think through the challenges facing your community, and hear from other communities looking to work through those same challenges.

Finally, you’ll hear from former Baker Chief of Staff and Harvard Taubman Center Senior Fellow Steve Kadish about some of the most promising strategies for working with community members and stakeholders to make the local change that our communities need.

Workshop topics include:

• Building the Municipal Workforce Pipeline: Challenges and Opportunities
• Early Education Reimagined: Funding Reform and Municipal Implications
• Broadening Broadband: Expanding Access to High-Speed Internet
• Transportation Infrastructure and Recovery: Stimulating Local Economies with Infrastructure Improvements