Meet the Artists in Pynchon Park

The Springfield Museums, Springfield Cultural Partnership , Mayor Domenic Sarno, The Springfield Parks and Recreation Department, and the Springfield Business Improvement District presented a Meet the Artist event, Wednesday, November 17, at 2:15 pm in the newly renovated Pynchon Plaza. The event included entertainment by Community Music School of Springfield.

Two years ago, in December 2019, the Springfield Museums and the Springfield Cultural Partnership sent out a call for public art that would transform Pynchon Plaza into a dynamic museum without walls, a vibrant public space with innovative multi-media art installations by local artists.  Now we celebrate the artists whose work has been funded by the SPark! Igniting Our Community project.

Eight projects inspired by Springfield’s people, cultures, places and historical legacies will be installed over the next six months. This event will be an opportunity to talk directly with the artists to learn more about their plans.

The artists/entities are:

• Roberley Bell (Pelham, MA): Artful Seating
• Lauren Celini (Springfield, MA): Utility Art
• Michelle Falcón Fontánez (Boston, MA): Mosaic Art
• Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría (Springfield, MA): Mosaic Art
• Beth Crawford (Haydenville, MA): 3D Sculptural Art
• Jeffrey Lara (Springfield, MA): 3D Sculptural Art
• Make-It Springfield: Library Box
• Ryan Murray (Springfield, MA): Fencing Art
• Rosemary Tracy Woods, Art for the Soul Gallery (Springfield, MA): Fencing Art

These works will also be joined by a sound sculpture created by Outdoor Musical Instruments (United Kingdom). This sound sculpture will be assembled and embellished by a City of Springfield carpenter and artist.

QUOTES FROM ARTISTS

Michelle Falcón Fontánez: “My people have been oppressed, silenced, restricted, forgotten, and murdered, ultimately leading to the erasure of our stories. I feel that true change can only happen when you understand your past and give voice to those experiences.”

Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría: “Our team feels that it is necessary to work against colonization and racism to ultimate preserve our histories and culture. We feel that in a plaza that is dedicated to Pynchon, we need to utilize the space as a form of resistance, depicting the diverse mosaics that we in the diaspora are composed of”….“I paint and write to touch some of the points where silence intersects with line-spheres and curve producing quantum physics planes that anchor my litoral realms joined by the great vastness of the ocean of Guayama, Puerto Rico and Massachusetts.”

Ryan Murray: “Two years ago I painted a mural in Union Station depicting Springfield’s history as a stop on the Underground Railroad. My goal through my public works is to educate the city on its forgotten history and to promote social justice and change. This new work will be a continuation of that message.”

Roberley Bell: “The curvilinear contours of the Pynchon Plaza bench provide pedestrians with the opportunity to sit facing one another, to engage in conversation. The bold color of the bench stands out in contrast to the concrete plaza. The bench’s bright blue color was inspired by One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  A nod to the Dr Seuss Museum , which is just outside the plaza.”

Jeffrey Lara: “Our-Presence-at-Dawn (OPAD) is a sculpture about the human family and our infinite capabilities to expand and grow. Carrying the colors of a sunrise, OPAD reflects a stage that the human family is currently in, a-great-dawn, after so many years of darkness and separation . . . It’s a light that’s teaching us how to better serve our communities and how to bring beauty into our daily lives. Our persistent nature that allows us to always rise when knocked down.”

Beth Crawford: “Duryea Redux celebrates Springfield’s important role in the creation of the automobile, while recognizing the effect of our love of cars on our environment. The sculpture has a base made from recycled Springfield brownstone and will be surrounded by a pollinator-friendly garden. . . .  The word redux is derived from the Latin word reducere which means to lead back or bring back. This project leads us back to a prior time in Springfield’s history and brings back natural pollinators to the city.”

MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS

The call for SPark! Igniting Our Community was open to all artists, and special consideration was given to installations that include Springfield artists, artists of color, LGBTQA+, and female artists.

Funding is thanks to a combination of public and private monies—including a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Program Grant and City of Springfield Community Development Block Grant.

The project is designed to engage city artists, residents, community stakeholders, and cultural institutions to actively participate to re-imagine public art that celebrates Springfield’s citizens, culture, and historical legacies. Competitive proposals will be inspired by aspects of Springfield itself—including its historic and/or present-day people, cultures, places and landscapes, architecture, etc.—and can be literal or creative, interpretive representations.

The SPark! Art Committee included representation from Springfield Cultural Council, Springfield Parks Department, Apremont Quadrangle Civic Association, Skyview Downtown, and the Springfield Technical Community College Carberry Fine Arts Gallery.

ABOUT THE PROJECT/ GOALS & PURPOSE

SPark! Igniting Our Community is a two-year public art project to transform recently reopened Pynchon Plaza into a vibrant public space with innovative multi-media art installations created by local and national artists. The project is designed to engage city artists, residents, community stakeholders, and cultural institutions to actively participate to re-imagine public art that celebrates Springfield’s citizens, culture and historical legacies. Competitive proposals will be inspired by aspects of Springfield itself—including its historic and/or present-day people, cultures, places and landscapes, architecture, etc.,—and can be literal or creative, interpretive representations.

ABOUT THE PROJECT PARTNERS

The Springfield Museums, the SPark! grant recipient and fiscal agent for the project, is a nonprofit organization of five museums located in the heart of downtown Springfield, MA. The mission of the Springfield Museums—as the regional center for informal learning for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)—is to warmly welcome all visitors and spark their curiosity with art, science, history and all things Seuss. Formed in 1857, the Springfield Museums support the preservation and vibrancy of the evolving cultural heritage of Springfield. The Museum’s permanent collections and robust lineup of exhibitions, educational programs, and special events inspire, educate, and entertain 500,000 regional, national, and international visitors annually. Springfield city residents receive free admission.

Springfield Cultural Partnership (SCP), the grant recipient serving as Project Director for SPark!, connects artists, institutions and audiences to create and celebrate Springfield. The SCP is a 501c3 founded in 2016 to serve all of Springfield, MA. A member based organization, the SCP includes a diverse mix of individuals and organizations all committed to supporting the vitality of thelocal cultural economy. The SCP oversees the MCC-designated Springfield Central Cultural District. The SCP’s mission is to foster civic engagement and arts education in the City of Springfield by creating and sustaining a vibrant cultural environment that authentically engages institutions, artists, and the community.

The City of Springfield Parks Division’s mission is to maintain and enhance Springfield’s parks and open spaces to provide safe and sustainable active and passive recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Pynchon Plaza is the property of the City of Springfield, and the Parks Division is responsible for its care and maintenance along with over 50 parks (2,500 acres), 160 traffic islands and terraces, and 55 miles of city sidewalks to ensure safe passage for school children and residents. The Division also conducts construction projects aimed at expanding and reclaiming parkland and open space to increase, diversify, and improve quality recreational programming and leisure activities. The Division is currently working on restoring four city parks, including Pynchon Plaza, in order to bring basic amenities like electrical services, green space, pedestrian pathways, wayfinding and seating.

The Springfield MA Business Improvement District covers the 26-blocks of Downtown, Springfield Massachusetts. As the third largest city in Massachusetts, Springfield serves as the arts, culture and entertainment hub for the region. Wonders await for those who live here and those who visit; including galleries, museums, theater, restaurants, music, amazing architecture, and more.

This project is funding in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.