Public art project that gathers community stories and song lyrics in Spanish and English through bilingual writing workshops of the Free School for Writing, story circles, oral histories and neighborhood dinners in JP/Roxbury's Egleston Square. These stories are incorporated into semi- permanent business signage along Washington Avenue, making a wayfinding poem on the built landscape. Led by writer, artist, and Egleston resident Denise Delgado, project collaborators have included Egleston Square Main Street, the Egleston Square Branch of the Boston Public Library; Santo Domingo, DR-based poet Frank Báez and multidisciplinary collective El Hombrecito; neighborhood merchants and residents Socrates Abreu, Desirée Franjul, Jonathan Hernandez, and Antonio Guerrero; visual artists Julia Pimes Mata, Fredy Melo, and Gabriel Sosa; and One Square World Egleston.
Lo Bueno y Lo Malo Market is a fictional bodega. The sign is installed on an empty storefront in Egleston Square, a neighborhood experiencing rapid gentrification. The text on the sign is a poem in Spanish that comes out of a community process that includes neighborhood gatherings and oral histories.
Photo credit: Luis Cotto. Installation by Richie.
D&D is a takeout restaurant at 3141 Washington Street in Egleston Square. This sign was produced as the restaurant prepared to expand its space and installed for its grand opening. Created in collaboration with owner Antonio “Tomy” Guerrero and graphic designer Fredy Melo, the sign includes a line from an oral history recorded from Tomy Guerrero. It says, “Every time someone tries something from here they love it, and every time they have the opportunity they come back.”
People who had participated in the project, as well as One Square Egleston, friends, and a group of youth artists from nearby Urbano Project, came together at what was then Millennium Restaurant on Washington Street in Egleston Square to eat and see video of oral histories recorded during the project.
People who had participated in the project, as well as One Square Egleston, friends, and a group of youth artists from nearby Urbano Project, came together at what was then Millennium Restaurant on Washington Street in Egleston Square to eat and see video of oral histories recorded during the project.
Jonathan Hernández, Socrates Abreu, and Desiree Franjul were born and/or raised in and around Egleston Square. Their oral histories were recorded during the project.
Recording by Paloma Valenzuela at Spontaneous Celebrations.
Video by Paloma Valenzuela at Chilacates restaurant on Amory Street.
Lead artist Denise Delgado and partner Luis Cotto, Egleston Square Main Street, brought collaborating poet Frank Báez and his multidisciplinary collective El Hombrecito from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for a mini-residency. Collaborators and project participants from the neighborhood came together for an artists’ talk, a Poetry Block Party with open mic and live performances in the Egleston Square Peace Garden, and more. Poster by Julia Pimes Mata.
Multidisciplinary collective El Hombrecito from Santo Domingo, DR performing with backup vocals from Boston youth artist Safiyyah Johnson.
We brought multidisciplinary collective El Hombrecito to Egleston Square from Santo Domingo. Their time in Boston included an artist’s talk and reading by poet Frank Báez, a live performance, and time to hang out with neighborhood writers and collaborators.
At CityPOP in Egleston Square
Bilingual writing workshops were held at Egleston Square Branch Library to generate and collect community stories.
The poem on the sign above, at 3211 Washington Street, comes out of a community process that includes neighborhood gatherings and oral histories. Denise Delgado in collaboration with design by Julia Pimes Mata.