Dayenne CB Walters

Billboard Hope’s Mission  To inspire and provide hope through the power of visual art in our neighborhood.

Project’s Goals  Our two-fold goal is 1) enrich the neighborhood and create a more beautiful community energy and 2) spotlight and support local artists throughout the year.

Project Summary  Billboard Hope proposes to display the work of 13 visual artists on the Clear Channel billboard at the corner of Roxbury and Centre Streets, Boston, Massachusetts. The theme for the 2021-2022 installation is Hope & Inspiration for the Future. After the past year of Covid-19 isolation and unrest, we are responding to the exhaustion everyone is feeling, respecting the efforts our community goes through to maintain its humanity, and resonating for some joy in our lives. We hope to beautify and energize the public square and residential space that lives in the shadow of this billboard.

Here’s how it all began

I’m a long-time resident and every day I walk past the billboard on the corner of Roxbury and Centre Streets. The billboard faces into a neighborhood that is bordered by a middle school, a playground, elderly and mixed income residences, a state park, small non-profit businesses and shops, and a historic church common. 

The billboard is an eyesore right now, but it could be so much more–a source of joy for the neighborhood, the children, and its local artists. Each artist will address the theme, “Hope: Inspiration for the Future.” We have the billboard for a year, beginning March 29th. Starting March 29, 2021, for a 4-week timeframe, 13 different visual artist’s work will be featured in the square. We expect that this will create connections between neighbors and result in a more energized public space. We will bring local artists and residents into conversations that will enrich the artists’ practice and foster a spirit of joy after a long, depressing year. This project can encourage other Boston neighborhoods with billboard displays to use them for projects that delight and reduce neighborhood blight.

We spread the word through networking to area businesses, Boston’s arts and neighborhood departments, and important local cultural institutions. We plan to have safe, social-distancing event collaborations with these same cultural organizations and churches during the summer and fall. This is a unique opportunity to provide an amazing rejuvenation to the public space even while the pandemic-induced social separation is still a factor in our lives.

Location

John Eliot Square is home to the Marcus Garvey residences, Timilty Middle School, a playground and basketball court, the historic Dillaway-Thomas House, First Church of Roxbury, and Roxbury Heritage State Park. In addition, it is steps from the ISB Cultural Center, Paige Academy, and thriving residential neighborhoods with a diverse mix of people from all over the world and all walks of life.