Public Art Accelerator
Ushering in a cohort of artists shaping Boston’s public space
The Boston Public Art Triennial’s Public Art Accelerator is a skill-building and grant-funding program that supports early-to-mid-career Boston-based artists in creating temporary public art projects in neighborhoods across the city.
Launched in 2018, the Accelerator has prepared more than 30 artists, providing over $1 million in direct funding to artists to bring their ideas to life in public — building a stronger, more equitable creative ecosystem for Boston. Through workshops, mentorship, and production support, artists gain the tools and confidence to create impactful, site-specific works that invite community connection. Over seven iterations of the program, artists’ projects have been collected by museums or permanently relocated, while alumni continue to teach in the field, earn numerous grants and accolades, and develop ambitious projects across the region—including two commissioned into Triennial 2025.
During Triennial exhibition years (2025, 2028), an advanced version of the Public Art Accelerator program enables more experienced local artists to create new installations at a greater scale.
ACCELERATOR ARTISTS
Meet Cohort 8
We’re pleased to present the newest Cohort, which began in September 2025. They’re each developing a proposal for a temporary public art project in one of Boston’s neighborhoods, with installations set to debut between March and October 2026. Keep an eye on our socials for their public art journey and read more about them on The Journal.
Jane D. Marsching
Jane D. Marsching (she | her) is an interdisciplinary artist whose collaborative, research-based practice explores ecology, climate activism, and social change. Through projects that connect art, environment, and community, she creates opportunities to imagine a more just and sustainable future.
crystal bi
crystal bi (she | they) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose participatory public projects explore imagination, belonging, and creative archiving. Through interactive sculptures and community rituals, they invite others to dream and design new ways of remembering and envisioning in public space.
Cara Michell
Cara Michell (she | her) is an artist, urban planner, and educator whose work merges creative practice and community participation. Through mapping, collaboration, and participatory design, she reimagines public space as a platform for collective storytelling and belonging.
Garrett Gould
Garrett Gould (he | him) is a sculptor and educator whose carved wooden forms subvert familiar objects to challenge perception and function. His work blends humor and craftsmanship, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationships with the everyday materials that shape their world.
ACCELERATOR ARTISTS
Previous Cohort
The Triennial Accelerator, held in 2024, was a special iteration designed to coincide with Triennial 2025: The Exchange. Three Greater Boston artists created large-scale, site-specific works for the Charlestown Navy Yard as part of the citywide exhibition.
Alison Croney Moses
Alison Croney Moses (she | her) is a Boston-based artist primarily working in wood, investigating craft, community, identity, and motherhood. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Rose Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
Andy Li
Andy Li (he | him) is a Boston-based artist who focuses on the power of now. His work is a reflection of the day-to-day mundane and the moments of greatness that we perceive in an instant. He is a Mass. Art graduate with a BFA in Film/Video and Fibers.
Evelyn Rydz
Evelyn Rydz (she | her) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores connections between bodies of water, personal histories, consumer cycles, and threats to natural and cultural ecosystems.
ACCELERATOR ALUMNI
ACCELERATOR SUPPORTERS
The Public Art Accelerator Program is possible thanks to the generosity and leadership of Joyce Linde, who supported the 3-year pilot program. She is joined by James and Audrey Foster and other donors who believe the work of local artists, especially artists of color and those underrepresented in traditional art systems, belongs in public space.