Charlestown Navy Yard selected as one of two host sites for Fall 2018 PARKXCHANGE Creative Placemaking Workshop
Partnering with several other organizations, National Parks of Boston hopes to rebuild connection with the Charlestown community through arts and culture
Boston - July 12, 2018 - The National Parks of Boston (NPB), Charlestown Navy Yard site was one of two parks chosen through a competitive national process sponsored by the City Parks Alliance (CPA) and the Trust For Public Lands (TPL) to host a creative placemaking city workshop this fall. The goal of the PARKXCHANGE Creative Placemaking Workshops is to strengthen the role of parks as an integrated part of community development by providing park and community leaders with arts based tools and strategies to engage and connect residents to parks in culturally relevant ways.
“Creative placemaking is a powerful tool for strengthening the role of national parks as places for civic gathering and activity,” said Superintendent Michael Creasey. “Through creative placemaking, the Charlestown Navy Yard will be a place where Charlestown residents can celebrate the restorative power of art through site-responsive visual arts, landscape installations, and performances and can engage in neighborhood’s rich heritage in meaningful and relevant ways.”
Creative placemaking is an evolving field of practice that intentionally utilizes the power of the arts, culture and creativity to serve a community's interest. The National Parks of Boston is one of 10 urban national parks designated by the National Park Service in 2016 to serve as a model for how national parks can work collaboratively with public and private agencies to engage communities and leverage resources in creating healthy liveable cities. This workshop presents an opportunity for the NPB, in collaboration with several local organizations and city leaders, to demonstrate the power of creative placemaking as a tool for parks to support communities, such as Charlestown, in new and innovative ways.
Partners on this project include:
1. USS Constitution Museum
2. U.S Navy, USS Constitution
3. Boston Harbor Now
4. City of Boston: Boston Planning and Development Agency, Boston Creates, Climate Ready Boston
Through this multi-agency partnership, NPB plans to engage and connect all Charlestown residents with the historic, cultural, and natural resources in the navy yard, with a focus on improving the health and sustainability of the community.
The City of Boston’s cultural plan, Boston Creates, calls for integrating arts and culture into all aspects of civic life by harnessing the power of arts and culture to engage Bostonians in civic discourse, planning, and creative problem-solving.
“This workshop is a great example of how we can best utilize urban parks, which serve as vital areas for civic engagement, to better serve the needs of the community,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “I look forward to using the outcomes of this workshop as a framework for how the City can further strengthen our community engagement through the arts and placemaking.”
The workshops will be led by professional facilitators and draw on the experience of leaders around the country through a unique curriculum that includes interactive learning. Teams of local participants will explore new approaches to , community engagement, and collaborative partnerships through creative placemaking strategies and tools.
This workshop is the result of a collaboration between the City Park Alliance’s (CPA) PARKXCHANGE City Workshop program and Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) Creative Placemaking Program. The $50,000 cost for each workshop is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Arts grant, CPA, TPL, and $12,500 from the National Parks of Boston and its partners.
National Parks of Boston
The National Parks of Boston is an organizational unit of the National Park Service that includes Boston’s three national parks: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site, and Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
Media Contacts
Michael Creasey
National Parks of Boston
978-735-5469
michael_creasey@nps.org
Kristina Carroll
City of Boston Office of Arts and Culture
617-635-0081
Kristina.Carroll@Boston.gov
Tom McCann
City Parks Alliance
202-930-7430
tmccann@cityparksalliance.org
Keith Maley
The Trust for Public Land 415-800-5177
Keith.Maley@tpl.org
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