The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy held a public celebration in Dewey Square on Thursday, September 19 to celebrate the completion of world-renowned artist Jeffrey Gibson’s mural, your spirit whispering in my ear (2024). The mural, which was co-commissioned in partnership with MASS MoCA, is the first by an Indigenous artist at Dewey Square. It is the tenth mural in the rotating series, which sees a new mural every 12-18 months.
Gibson, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, is celebrated globally for his work which marries Native American imagery with contemporary art and culture. your spirit whispering in my ear continues Gibson’s exploration of historical sociopolitical movements and how they connect with themes of identity and resistance.
Hand-painted by Overall Murals, it features colorful patterns, reflecting the rising and setting of the sun; the faces of two spirits, representing the spirits of Gibson’s ancestors who have met challenges and difficulties with faith, courage, and strength; pins and buttons, depictions of Gibson’s personal memorabilia collected from social and political equity movements throughout recent history; a snake, a common motif in Gibson’s recent work, symbolizing rebirth and transformation; and burning sage, representing the Indigenous practice of smudging.
“Art really showed me that there was another world out there where I could feel more comfortable in my own skin, as opposed to the world that I saw around me as a child,” said Jeffrey Gibson. “I really couldn’t do what I do without the number of people assisting and supporting me. Some of those people, of course, are the Rose Kennedy Greenway. I want to thank Chris Cook, Audrey and her team, my studio and Denise Markonish. I hope everyone, every artist, gets a chance to work with a curator who really doesn’t say no, and instead works to find ways to help realize your vision–which is kind of unusual, but it does happen. Both Audrey and Denise have gone above and beyond.”
Established over a decade ago, the Conservancy’s Public Art Program seeks to build partnerships and exchange with local and national creatives, build new narratives of belonging in Boston’s public spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, and strengthen the public’s contextual understanding of the land The Greenway rests on.
“The Greenway and Dewey Square is a place where many histories are interconnected, where they intermingle, where they intersect. I could not feel prouder of being able to feature Jeffrey Gibson and your spirit whispering in my ear, which honors Boston’s public spaces and reflects that unique and diverse history,” said Audrey Lopez, Director and Curator of Public Art at The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. “I’m also so grateful to our team at The Greenway Conservancy, our supporters, and MASS MoCA, our fabulous collaborators who have continued to march towards supporting us in centering Indigenous voices, past, present and future, here in the center of Boston.”
To honor Gibson and celebrate the tenth mural to grace the 70’x76’ Dewey Square canvas, the Conservancy hosted a public event in partnership with MASS MoCA which was co-curated and produced with the North American Indian Center of Boston, The Boston LGBTQ+ Museum of Art, History & Culture, and Kareem Khubchandani, Associate Professor at Tufts University. The evening featured opportunities for attendees to enjoy music, spoken-word, art-making activities, dance, and drag performances from local artists.
“I am so proud of our partnership with the Greenway that brings Massachusetts together by showcasing Jeffrey Gibson, one of the most extraordinary artists of our moment. Jeffrey and your spirit whispering in my ear represent the transformative and inspirational power of art and community, and I’m so honored to be part of bringing this opportunity to a new generation of artists and admirers,” said Denise Markonish, Chief Curator, MASS MoCA.
Gibson recently represented the United States at the Venice Biennale, and his work has appeared in the Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Gallery of Canada, among other institutions.
MASS MoCA’s new, commissioned exhibition of Gibson’s work, “Power Full Because We’re Different”, opens November 3, 2024, in its signature Building 5 gallery. The Conservancy’s partnership with MASS MoCA for this iteration of the mural represents an intentional connectivity among the region’s arts ecosystem, seeking to empower diverse perspectives and welcome a broader public audience around purposeful art.
For information on future events and programming, follow @greenwaypublicart on Instagram and visit rosekennedygreenway.org/art.
Artist Statement
“Your spirit whispering in my ear” are words that I wrote earlier this year as I thought about the challenges that my ancestors, and others, have endured during their lifetimes and how they met those difficulties with faith, courage and strength.
I often say the phrase “Say A Prayer” casually when I am about to do something that matters to me. It is a simple way to call upon good energy and protection from those who have come before me. I am not only speaking to my ancestors but also to artists, past and present activists, the planet, the universe, and to all living things surrounding us.
The colorful patterns reflect the rising and setting of the sun, the vibrations of energy all around us, they point to what is above us and also to what is below the ground underneath our feet. The faces are representations of two of these spirits while acknowledging that there are an infinite number of spirits witnessing our current world. The pins are from my personal collection of memorabilia from different social and political equity movements that reflect one’s right to make choices regarding our own bodies, feminist movements, the pursuit of peace, the definition of freedom, environmentalism, and the questioning of how we define what is real or not. Finally, the snake is an image that I have been including in my work over the past few years to symbolize rebirth and transformation, as a reminder that time continues on and that there will be a time after this particular moment has passed.
Thank You to Our Supporters
Project support for your spirit whispering in my ear is provided by Bob and Doris Gordon. Public Art on The Greenway is made possible with major support from the Barr Foundation, Goulston & Storrs, the Greenway Business Improvement District, the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation, Meet Boston, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Wagner Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee. Special thanks to our collaborators The Dagny Boston, Marr Lifts, and Yotel and to our in-kind media sponsor WBUR. Support for the opening reception of your spirit whispering in my ear was generously provided by the Greenway Business Improvement District and the Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion’s Office of Nightlife Economy. Support for Jeffrey Gibson: “Power Full Because We’re Different”at MASS MoCA is provided by The Coby Foundation, Ltd., the National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation, and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.
About Jeffrey Gibson
Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972, Colorado Springs, CO; lives and works in New York) grew up in major urban centers in the United States, Germany, Korea, and the U.K. A mid-career multidisciplinary artist, he is a citizen of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee, whose practice includes sculpture, painting, printmaking, video, and performance. Gibson earned his Master of Arts in painting at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1998 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. His work is in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian; National Gallery of Canada; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; the Museum of Modern Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Gibson is a past TED Foundation Fellow and a Joan Mitchell Grant recipient. He is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Bard College and lives and works near Hudson, New York. This year, Gibson represented the United States at the 60th edition of La Biennale di Venezia. He is the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo presentation in the national pavilion.
About The Greenway and the Greenway Conservancy
The Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston. The Greenway welcomes millions of visitors annually to gather, play, unwind, and explore. The Greenway Conservancy is the non-profit responsible for the management and care of The Greenway. The majority of the public park’s annual budget is generously provided by private sources.
The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program brings innovative and contemporary art to Boston through free, seasonal exhibitions that engage people in meaningful experiences, interactions, and dialogue with art, each other, and the most pressing issues of our time. Past Greenway exhibitions can be viewed on the Conservancy’s website.
About MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary Season under Director Kristy Edmunds, not only as the largest, multidisciplinary, contemporary art museum in North America, but also as a creative campus with a regional, national, and global impact. MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest centers for making and enjoying today’s most evocative art, and is an indispensable home for artists who stretch toward what has yet to be created. From its beginnings as the major textile mill Arnold Print Works in the mid-19th century, to its days as the Sprague Electric Company in the mid-20th century, to its current iteration as a globally renowned contemporary art museum and fabrication center, the 24-acre MASS MoCA campus has a rich history of serving as an economic engine of the city of North Adams and the surrounding region. With vast galleries and a stunning variety of indoor and outdoor performing arts venues, MASS MoCA is able to embrace art in all forms. For more information visit www.massmoca.org or follow on Instagram at @massmoca.