last weekend and this

In the interest of sharing, here is a real short list of projects that the Office of Public Engagement and friends have been playing around with these last couple of weeks.

Parade for the Future - On Saturday, September 13th, a strange blue wave of mermaids, eco-survivors, fish, and octopi descended upon the Boston Common as part of Platform 2's Parade for the Future. Together this collection of artists, activists, and a couple of drunk tourists wound their way through the Commons, celebrating what hasn’t happened yet, notably the impending submergence of the city under water due to climate change. Members of the parade tied blue ribbons onto landmarks throughout the Commons, marking the future high-water line of Boston in 100 years (in some spots, leaving the current landscape 9 feet under water!)

You can view images and read a first-hand account of the parade here. Platform2: Art and Social Engagement is an experimental forum series about creative practices at the intersection of social issues. Platform2 is organized by Catherine D'Ignazio (RISD faculty, Digital+Media) & Savic Rasovic of iKatun, Andi Sutton and Jane D. Marsching.


Block Party! - Andrew Oesch and Jen Cozzens (both RISD alums and mentors at New Urban Arts) are spending this week furiously building cardboard blocks to stage a city-wide free-for-all construction party in Worcester, MA. “Block Party” is an offshoot of “Magic City Repairs” (a cardboard-and-paper city building project carried out in Providence and in Worcester in 2007.)

The impetus behind this large-scale public installation is to invite neighbors, kids, and visitots to imagine what a city block could look like if they themselves were given the bricks and mortar to build.

You can check out their blog all week here.