Artmaking in the Public Realm

Category: Public Art
Location: Lowell, Massachusetts

The Concord River Greenway project brought together artists, Lowell residents, volunteers, and members of the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust to create and install public art works along a 1.7-mile trail next to the Concord River. Lead artist Wopo Holup drew design inspiration from the natural environment and Lowell’s historical and cultural roots. Local artists collaborated on Holup’s installations, which include cast iron river-bird bollards and granite carvings of native wildlife placed alongside trail gateways and bridges. Holup also designed a fence lettered with poetry by Henry David Thoreau, who wrote extensively about the natural beauty of the Concord River region.

The Concord River Greenway represents a two-year collaboration (2006-2008) between NEFA and the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust. The project was launched with a $20,000 planning grant from NEFA’s Fund for the Arts. From there, two additional grants from NEFA, for design and fabrication totaling $76,000, helped to leverage an additional $63,000 from other sources.