For immediate release: Tuesday, June 8, 2021

LYNN - Lynn’s Mt. Vernon Street Plaza will gain a signature piece of art this fall: but first, the City is asking those who live and work in Lynn to weigh in on five concepts for the site.

Today, the City of Lynn, Downtown Lynn Cultural District and Lynn Public Arts Commission announced the artists and artist teams selected as finalists for the “Lynnstallation,” a piece of public art to be installed by the commuter rail station entrance at Mt. Vernon and Exchange Street.

“The goal of this project is to install artwork that reflects the spirit of Lynn, brings people to the Downtown Lynn Cultural District and turns the plaza into a gathering space,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “The voices of the Lynn community are central to this process, so we hope to see a lot of people give feedback on the five options.”

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Arts and Culture Department is leading the engagement and selection process for the piece, which will mark the gateway to the Downtown Lynn Cultural District, one of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s officially designated cultural districts.

Almost four dozen artists and artist teams submitted applications for the project last July: from those, these five received grants to develop full concepts for the site.

• Yetti Frenkel: “Star-Fish”
• Fitzhugh Karol: “Jumbo T-Jax” 
• Beth Nybeck: “The In Between”
• Orlosky Studio: “Laces of Lynn”
• The Urban Conga: “Periscope”

Read more about their proposals and see images at https://lynnincommon.com/lynnstallation. Abbreviated proposals are included on the webpages above, as well as downloadable PDFs of the artists’ full submissions.

These artists and artist teams are presenting their concepts for a signature public art piece after being selected through a new community-centered model for municipal public art procurement. In addition to the proposed art pieces, finalists created detailed plans for building partnerships and engaging with Lynn artists, organizations and residents as the artwork is fabricated and installed.

On Thursday, June 24, 2021, artists will present their concepts and answer questions at a virtual Zoom meeting. After the meeting, Lynn community members will have the chance to vote on the different concepts until mid-July.

Community engagement has been a priority during the process from the start: even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the project team worked with local artists, residents and nonprofits and held focus groups to get a sense of what community members wanted. The project was delayed several times due to the pandemic.

“The prospect of an art piece marking this Lynn gateway inspires hope,” said Jennifer Erickson, Director of Arts & Culture for MAPC. “As the City and its residents resume safe gatherings in public spaces, we are excited to see that arts and cultural experiences like this ‘Lynnstallation’ will enliven the space and bring much-needed beauty and joy.”