BOSTON–Lendlease shared its vision for the public art program at Clippership Wharf, home to a new community on one of East Boston’s historic wharfs.
Clippership Wharf will feature two prominent outdoor sculptures as well as a gallery designed to promote the local art scene, all of which will be available to the public starting in 2019. Lendlease has also announced a call for art for the first gallery show.
“East Boston has a proud history of being home to a thriving art community, and we are excited to continue that tradition at Clippership Wharf,” said Nick Iselin, General Manager for Lendlease Development in Boston. “The sculptures and gallery will highlight unique parts of East Boston’s history, and will be an attraction for both residents of Clippership Wharf and the public.”
The ClipArt Gallery will be East Boston’s newest contemporary art gallery and is slated to open in spring 2019. The gallery, which will be curated and managed by the Atlantic Works Gallery, will be located on the ground floor of the Slip65 Condominiums and will be open to the public on Saturday afternoons. The first show, “East Boston: Present Tense,” will highlight current works from the East Boston arts community. The call for art is currently open, and artists will be selected in February. Artists interested in exhibiting at ClipArt Gallery can respond to the call for art published in ArtScope, as well as online at clipartboston.com.
Clippership Wharf will also be home to two public art installations, the result of both nationwide and local competitions. “Islands,” designed by Volkan Alkanoglu, occupies a preeminent location on a newly created stretch of the East Boston Harborwalk and represents an interpretation of the five former Boston Harbor islands that form today’s East Boston. The brightly colored sculpture is fully interactive, inviting individuals to reorient and occupy the different shapes as they desire.
“Pillar” will reside in the courtyard at Clippership Wharf and was conceptualized by New American Public Art. The installation will tell two very different stories, evoking both the massive Lepidodendron trees found in prehistoric East Boston and the great Eastern White Pine trees later used by the shipbuilding trades on the East Boston wharfs, including Clippership Wharf itself. Plaques describing each vision will be at the site, inviting visitors to see which story resonates most with them.
The sculptures at Clippership Wharf are slated to be unveiled in early 2019, with the ClipArt Gallery opening in spring 2019. Lendlease worked with Sunne Savage Gallery to curate the art program at Clippership Wharf. This local public art program is reflective of Lendlease’s long standing commitment to placemaking.
Clippership Wharf will combine public art and civic gathering spaces to create a dynamic community, all with stunning views of the Boston skyline. The new apartments at Clippership Wharf are set start pre-leasing later this year, and Slip45 condominiums are coming in spring 2019. The first condos at the site, Slip65, sold out in just eight weeks.
