For the 2022 Bicentennial, $205,000 in Olmsted Now Parks Equity & Spatial Justice Grants will fund 16 inspiring proposals from local creatives! Check out who, when, where, why and how these projects will come to life through October.
Why:
Rather than focus exclusively on the history or landscapes of Frederick Law Olmsted, Olmsted Now invites all to explore the contemporary relevance of Olmsted’s legacy values: shared use, shared health and shared power across all parks and public space. Olmsted Now’s core grant program has been likewise values-driven: parks equity and spatial justice guiding the process in which decisions are centered in community and resources are de-centered across neighborhoods.
Who:
Grant decisions were made by the Committee of Neighborhoods: trusted Boston neighborhood leaders respected for their commitment to amplifying under-heard voices and under-resourced open spaces with a dedication to opportunity, advocacy and justice. Inspired by Olmsted’s vision of parks as places to “Come together and be seen,” the grantmaking is supported by the “Come Together” Fund of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy Board and the broader Olmsted Now coalition.
How:
The Committee ultimately chose to allocate $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000 grants to projects that strive to “turn the idea of parks equity into strategic action.” The Committee received 87 proposals totaling $1,175,000 in requested funding – nearly six times the granting capacity – a testament to both the deep talent and overwhelming and outsized demand for more culturally inclusive, neighborhood-determined greenspace programming in Boston.
A grant review task force of the Committee of Neighborhoods selected projects with the potential to make the most revitalizing or reparative impacts on Boston public space across cultural scope, scale and format. The task force also strove to fund both projects that might expand already highly admired programs into locations needing new voice or visibility, and those that launch new initiatives in established and highly visible locations. The use of artistry and greenspace sites to amplify each other was a prime consideration.
When and Where:
Awarded projects will take place across more than 10 Boston neighborhoods in the remainder of the Bicentennial season, July – October 2022.
Here are the Project Leads and their Proposals:
The grantees bring a vast range of experience to their proposals: some have built trust in Boston over many decades, while others are testing terrain to mark new chapters in greenspace activation and spatial justice. Each proposes to engage participants through intersections of movement, making, music, storytelling, ritual, history-keeping and future-making. Cultural affirmation and themes of healing and revitalization run through all of the projects
“We’re so grateful to the Olmsted Now Committee of Neighborhoods,” said Christine Nguyen of Asian Community Development Corporation. “Chinatown Backyard has been a refuge and space for connection and creativity for the community since its inception a few years ago. This grant will help us usher in its next phase of community gardening and arts and culture.”
Writer and educator Nakia Hill said of her proposal to publish a book featuring stories of women and girls of color and their connections to Boston parks, “I think this is a really great way to archive Olmsted’s legacy and for community members to have an intimate keepsake for future generations to look back on their Boston park experiences.”
Jen Mergel, Director of Experience & Cultural Partnerships at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, works closely with the Committee and observed: “What is most exciting about these proposals is how they seek to move the needle, not only on how cultural activities can enrich Boston’s greenspace, but how greenspace can be essential to enriching Boston’s cultural landscape. As the bicentennial invites neighborhood leaders and local creatives to seed this fertile ground, now the key question is how to learn from and sustain this work going forward – through and beyond 2022.”
Parks Equity and Spatial Justice Project Interviews:
Boston Liberation Center Celebrates One Year
Ngoc-Tran Vu on Bringing Social Issues into the Open
“It Gets in Your Soul:” Taiko and the Parks with Karen Young
Fear and Shame, Love and Thanks: Facing History with Ifé Franklin
Kera Washington’s Project Misik: Vulnerability and Exploration Through Collective Music-Making
A bittersweet exploration of place with Dzidzor Azaglo and Crystal Bi
Grounded by Baldwin, Anita Morson-Matra and JAE bring movement to the parks
More than a Mishoon: Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. and Tom Green on Indigenous Cultural Revitalization
Souls and Soil: Día de los Muertos in the park with Veronica Robles
“Dancing well into the night”: Hyde Square Task Force reflects on summer programming
Ownership through Archiving: Nakia Hill’s Anthology of Boston Stories
“A time of healing” in Franklin Park with Robert Peters
“To bring back the front stoop of Chinatown”: ACDC’s efforts toward community greenspace
