Watertown Public Arts Master Plan

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Watertown Public Arts Master Plan

Advancing a thriving arts and culture ecosystem for Watertown.

In 2019, the Town of Watertown received a technical assistance grant from MAPC to assist with the creation of a Public Arts Master Plan. The Plan, which outlines a vision and values for public arts in Watertown and public arts program recommendations, was officially adopted by the Watertown Town Council on February 23, 2021.

Working in partnership with the City’s new Public Arts and Culture Planner and Public Arts and Culture Committee (PACC), MAPC is supporting strategic planning, research, development of a public arts and culture policy that articulates goals, values, and priorities of the Public Arts and Culture Program, the structure of the PACC, funding sources, and decision-making processes.

Public Arts and Culture Committee meetings are held monthly and are open to the viewing public. More information about the Committee and meeting information can be found at www.watertown-ma.gov/614/Public-Arts-and-Culture-Committee.

QUESTIONS?

For more information about the project, contact MAPC Arts & Culture Director Annis Sengupta at [email protected].

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News

August 2022: Watertown reviews public arts funding policy language

MAPC presented policy proposals to the Public Arts and Culture subcommittee to further public arts funding in Watertown. MAPC drafted policy language that would allow the town to adopt a variety of funding mechanisms and provided guidance for creating a stabilization fund, allocating funding through a portion of local options taxes, and establishing a percent-for-art program. City staff are reviewing the language internally and will present the options to the Public Arts and Culture Committee to finalize a preferred policy to recommend for adoption with the aid of City staff.

July 2022: Watertown Publishes Call for Artists and Selects Artists for Edible Watertown

After completing the Making It Public training, the Public Arts and Culture Committee published a call for artists for the inaugural Edible Watertown project. Ten artists were selected to create two-dimensional temporary public art installations depicting edible native plant species. This project aims to promote awareness of the local environment through community engagement and the artistic and scientific exploration of plant life in Watertown. Art will be on display through January 31st

For more information about the program, visit https://www.watertown-ma.gov/815/Edible-Watertown

May 2022: Watertown PACC formed a Subcommittee to Explore Funding Options

January 2022: Watertown selected for “Making it Public”

Watertown is one of eight Massachusetts municipalities chosen to participate in Making it Public, a free training facilitated by Forecast Public Art designed to equip administrators in strengthening local capacity to support, create, and promote public art.

Participating municipalities will be eligible to receive a $10,000 grant from The New England Foundation for the Arts to fund artists selected by way of a Call for Temporary Public Art in 2022.

For more information about the program, visit https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/making-it-public/

December 2021: Public Arts and Culture Planner Hired, Committee Established

Watertown has hired a Public Arts and Culture Planner! Liz Helfer will work with the newly formed Public Arts and Culture Committee to make recommendations around art in public places, while overseeing fundraising, community partnerships, outreach and more.

The Committee meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 6 p.m. and encourages public input. More information about the Committee and meeting information can be found at www.watertown-ma.gov/614/Public-Arts-and-Culture-Committee.

Artists can find local resources, calls for public art, and events on Watertown's Public Arts and Culture webpage.

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Planning for Public Art

The Watertown Public Arts Master Plan, developed from 2019-2020, was brought to life through the generosity and participation of nearly 600 people who live and work in Watertown. Individuals of all ages and walks of life contributed content to the planning process through interviews, participation in focus groups, attendance at public events, and completion of a Public Arts Interest survey.

To develop the plan, MAPC staff worked with the Watertown Department of Community Development and Planning and an Advisory Committee that included representatives from a grassroots public art committee, Watertown Public Schools, and arts and cultural businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The Plan:

Articulates a vision for infusing the arts into the public realm in Watertown;
Inventories public arts assets and opportunity areas; and
Makes recommendations for the creation of a management structure to guide the public art selection process and mechanisms for securing consistent funding streams for the development, construction, and maintenance of commissioned projects.

The Plan outlines a vision and values for public arts in Watertown, provides a snapshot of the Town’s current public arts ecosystem, details the community engagement that helped shape the plan, and provides public arts program recommendations and implementation steps.

Click here to download the Watertown Public Arts Master Plan.

Vision

The mission of the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Program is to integrate creative expressions and ideas into a variety of public settings for the benefit of the people of Watertown and visitors to the community.

This plan envisions a program that leverages artists’ unique abilities to act as connectors
across generations, cultures, and geographies. It aims to support artists in pursuit of inclusive and collaborative projects that nurture the creative potential—and honor and engage the cultural experiences—of Watertown diverse residents, and in which all residents are empowered to take an active role in shaping Watertown’s public cultural life.

Guiding Values

Download the full plan to learn more about these values.

Foster diversity and inclusion
Bolster creativity in community life
Center local context and identities in engaging with Watertown's past, present, and future
Make connections to nature and sustainability
Solidify commitments to the public arts through stable funding investments and partnerships

Core Recommendations

Download the plan for more information on these recommendations.

Integrate arts into planning and community development

Establish a staffed position in the Department of Planning and Community Development to support the development of public arts projects and initiatives that advance the Town’s community development goals, as articulated in the 2015 Watertown Comprehensive Plan, particularly those pertaining to development and preservation of affordable housing, enhanced connectivity and open space, support for neighborhood retail and small businesses, and improvements to the public realm that enhance mobility and livability for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Establish policies and metrics that align with program values

Build lasting partnerships among municipal and civic stakeholders

Foster relationships and partnerships among Town departments (particularly the Department of Public Works and Parks and Recreation) as well as public and private entities (particularly the public schools, public library, and community-based and cultural organizations) to ensure that public arts projects and programs support and strengthen community life and are integrated into everyday experience.

Support and strengthen community ties

Mobilize and strengthen existing networks and organizations at the heart of Watertown’s cultural and community life. Focus on investments in arts education and public arts initiatives in Watertown public schools, and develop partnerships with community-based arts and cultural organizations to seed projects that highlight Watertown’s unique neighborhoods, historic and cultural heritage (including its Indigenous cultural heritage and industrial heritage), and cultural diversity.

Ensure a variety of funding sources for arts and culture

Cultivate funding streams that can support an array of public arts initiatives, including semi-permanent, temporary, and ephemeral projects and programs. This should include a percent-for-art mechanism that can support the integration of durable (semi-permanent and temporary) artworks in public buildings and facilities, as well as sponsorships and grants for innovative partnerships, festivals, and other opportunities that activate the arts in the public realm.

What else is in the plan?

The rest of the plan includes guidance on:

Program administration for a public arts authority
Project and site selection
Artist and artistic concept selection
Case studies
Collections management
Program funding
Policy considerations
Implementation