Brookline Artist Transforms Downtown Crossing Utility Box

Brookline MA

26 October, 2021

4:18 PM

Description

BROOKLINE, MA — A Brookline artist has transformed a utility box in Downtown Crossing as part of a new outdoor public art exhibition sponsored by the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (BID). Emily Lynn Perelman is one of eight local visual artists who are featured in "It's Welcome Time," an installation that depicts culturally meaningful gestures, person-to-person interactions, evocative abstractions, and whimsical interpretations that fit the theme of welcoming and being welcomed. According to Downtown Crossing BID President Rosemarie Sansone, the goal of the project is to help people living, working, and visiting downtown Boston feel welcome, safe, and confident. "Downtown Crossing, the Financial District, and the streets that make up our District are vibrant: full of history, extraordinary architecture, incredible restaurants and stores," said Sansone in a statement. "We also have a history of presenting and supporting art that gives people joy, surprises them and, in this case, shows how we welcome them to visit, explore and rediscover Downtown Boston." Participating artists were chosen out of several dozen applicants by a panel of judges including neighborhood business owners Ferguson Herivaux and Ian So, artist and project manager Tran Vu, and Downtown Crossing BID representatives. All eight artists are diverse in background and style and were inspired by personal experiences, traditions, or welcoming rituals. Along with Perelman, other featured artists include Brighton-based Eli Portman, Boston's Demetri Espinosa, Allston art teacher Jennifer Turpin, Lynn-based artist April Jakubec Duggal, Somerville-based Mrinaalika Sivakumar, Somerville illustrator Adric Giles, and Dorchester artist Naijah Nine. More information about "It's Welcome Time," including a walking map of the installations, is available at downtownboston.org as well as the Downtown Boston BID's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.