‘Storytell & Sway’ public art transforms Chinatown’s Hudson Street →

THE BAY STATE BANNER

Published August 12th, 2021

By Celina Colby

“Storytell & Sway” swinging benches in Chinatown, the first installation in the “Hudson Street Stoop” public art series. PHOTO: AARON JOHN BOURQUE PHOTOGRAPHY

A new piece of public art has arrived at Chinatown’s historic Hudson Street. Developed by Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) and artist Gianna Stewart, “Storytell & Sway” provides usable space for the Chinatown community while acknowledging the area’s rich immigrant history.

The site-specific work features a circular yellow swinging bench construction with community stories inscribed on it in the various languages heard around Hudson Street. At a community meeting, locals expressed the desire for an artwork to make the space usable for the neighborhood and for an element of sound to be incorporated.

The “Storytell & Sway” idea clicked for Stewart as she researched the neighborhood’s history.  “I was reading about Hudson Street being like the ‘front porch’ of Chinatown … and I had this memory of sitting on the porch swing as a kid and seeing the neighborhood,” she says. Stewart was connected by ACDC to Cynthia Yee, a writer, educator and Chinatown native. Yee has pioneered the “Hudson Street Chronicles,” a collection of stories told by Chinatown residents to preserve the neighborhood’s dynamic and tumultuous history.

Yee and Stewart engaged the community in an evening of storytelling, from which they sourced the stories that would later be imprinted on each “Storytell & Sway” swing. “During those events, the room was full of stories, different languages, different timelines, and I wanted the seats to reflect that,” says Stewart. In the installation’s printed stories, each new language on the swings represents a new speaker.

Stewart also used the community meeting to get feedback on the installation’s sound. She sourced bells from shops around Chinatown and had the group vote on which sounds they preferred. The top three are the bells that gently chime at the top of each swing in the installation.

“Storytell & Sway” is the inaugural installation for ACDC’s “Hudson Street Stoop” series, a program that will install new artworks in the space every 18 months. Hudson Street was once home to many immigrant households and supported a thriving stoop culture where neighbors connected outside their homes. Many of those residents were displaced during the highway construction of the 1960s. Now, with the development of affordable housing and creation of public art installations like this one, ACDC hopes to bring that sense of community back to Hudson Street.

The swing installation will be up through fall 2022, and the community has already adopted it. “It’s so nice when you go by off-hours and there are neighbors just hanging out,” says Stewart. “I think our overall goal is that it will bring a sense of belonging in the space.”

5 Galleries to Check Out in Rockport This Weekend

including iartcolony

42 Broadway

Daily 12-6 during exhibitions or by appointment

“iartcolony is, in a word, cool. The gallery brings a fresh energy to Cape Ann, with provocative exhibitions exploring themes from shamanism and spirituality to rock and roll. Everything about iartcolony is animated—from the chartreuse walls to curators Bob and Jill’s infectious descriptions of their projects. Their upcoming psychedelic exhibition, Commune features 19 artists and collaborators who, “embody the essence of the ‘60s and its movement—several of whom were intimately involved in its making.” Come check out the opening reception (Saturday, September 7 from 5 to 8 PM) and make sure to explore the tents outside revealing interactive augmented reality, revivalism, reiki healing and the unfolding consciousness of the painter Michael Talbot.” -Emily Bass



Gianna Stewart, Magical Amass II, 2017-2019, installation with 30 hand cast plastic tents. Courtesy of the artist. On view at iartcolony, Rockport.

Gianna Stewart, Magical Amass II, 2017-2019, installation with 30 hand cast plastic tents. Courtesy of the artist. On view at iartcolony, Rockport.

Source: https://artnewengland.com/blogs/5-exhibiti...

Underwater Museum of Art to get new sculptures →

“Artists selected for this year’s installation include Boston’s Gianna Stewart, whose sculpture “Depth of Decision” features a series of four doors opening from a center point at different angles.

“I’ve never scuba dived, but I imagine it’s this vast expanse of almost nothing and to place some sort of architecture down there I think is interesting, ” Stewart said.

The thought of the museum’s boundless setting was what inspired her to create “a doorway without a wall.”

-By Nathan Cobb | GateHouse Media Florida

Posted May 12, 2019 at 1:00 PMUpdated May 12, 2019 at 1:01 PM

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12 designs selected for Underwater Museum of Art →

SANTA ROSA BEACH – The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA) and South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) recently revealed the 12 sculpture designs selected by jury for permanent exhibition in the second installation of the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA).

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Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

Read the full article here: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2017/06/22/five-reasons-to-leave-the-house-this-weekend-134/

“SAMARAS” BY GIANNA STEWART, PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTIST

“SAMARAS” BY GIANNA STEWART, PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTIST

“In a visual arts exhibit on Peddocks Island, [Re]creation artists use found objects and the natural landscape to unlock the beauty of the environment and to showcase the culture and history of the Boston Harbor Islands. ”
— Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend by Amber Miles, Boston Magazine