The Future of Public Art on Display at Beyond Walls
For the past week and a half and through next week, Maria has been hard at work presenting at and directing Beyond Walls: Performance in Public Space. This three-week credit-bearing intensive for college music, dance and theatre students at Boston Conservatory at Berklee is the first of its kind. Participants discover the possibilities, best practices, creative thinking, and practical implementation of large-scale public performance works. After a survey of the types of these projects that have been produced over the past decade, students will work with artists, producers, creators, clients, and other stakeholders to create an original culminating public art piece to be presented at the Back Bay Fens, in partnership with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and MF Dynamics.
One of many lectures on topics related to public performance art - Jamie Santuccio from The Emerald Necklace Conservacy
The idea behind Beyond Balls was the result of a call for proposals for summer programs at BoCo. Recognizing the value in creating a space where conservatory students can explore this otherwise often unexplored medium, Maria developed a curriculum based on her years of experience as a producer of public art. The result is an experiential-based learning program highlights by multi-disciplinary work and collaboration. The curriculum Maria developed includes lectures and presentations on such topics as Introduction to Public Performance Art, Introduction to Design Thinking, Pitching 101, and Marketing Strategies. Students-- 42 in all, are divided into 8 cohorts, each a mix of musicians, dancers, and actors-- receive coachings from Maria and faculty member, Peter DiMuro of Public Displays of Motion and the Dance Complex. Cohorts work together to create pitches for public performances. The pitches were presented this week to a panel of faculty and professional artists, who then selected a winning pitch, which will be presented by the entire group of students next week at Back Bay Fens (think “Shark Tank” but make it art). All of this is supplemented with improv and dance classes with Boston Conservatory Faculty, as well as masterclasses with artists from Silk Road Ensemble!
The winning pitch, titled, Rising, is a three-movement work featuring music, poetry and movement that focuses on the cycle of restoration, recovery, and rebirth. The students were given three stories from the Emerald Necklace to incorporate into the narrative of their pitches: the history of the park, the Muddy River restoration, and the burning of the Evan’s Way bridge. In general, all of the pitches zeroed in on themes of natural cycles and regeneration. Some of the emerging themes included climate change and parallels with the global pandemic.
Maria with Peter DiMuro
In terms of takeaways, Maria hopes that students will see that, “we are all creators, we all have a voice that can be a connective tissue between our craft and the public, and there is space for art in other places besides the standard four-walled theater...young artists need to think about where their voices are being heard and who hears them...The idea that we can be in public spaces creating opportunities for thinking and reflection is really important for society, and it’s not highlighted in traditional art school setting.”
Rising, the culminating performance for Beyond Walls will take place next Friday, May 28 at 1:00 PM in the Back Bay Fens (registration for the event is now live!). If you are in the area, be sure to check out the future of public art at work.
