2016 Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Grants Announced

2016 Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Grants Announced

BOSTON – The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), in conjunction with the Fort Point Channel Operations Board (FPCOB), has awarded six grants totaling $40,000 to art, education, and community groups with plans for activating the Fort Point Watersheet for the 2016 season. 

Grant applicants were asked to submit project ideas that would develop creative water-based programming around the edges of the channel or construct capital improvements within the channel. 

“This year’s grant recipients have plans to enhance the Fort Point area with a number of exciting initiatives and installations,” said Brian Golden, Director of the BRA. “We’re really looking forward to seeing these ideas come to life.”
 
2016 Winning Projects:

Floating Urban Garden MandalaApplicants: Artists for Humanity and Conducive, Inc.Award: $5,000

Artists for Humanity, a non-profit that employs Boston-area youth to create artwork for local businesses, institutions, and the public, and Conducive, Inc., a firm that utilizes innovative urban design and real estate to focus on building ecosystem services in urban neighborhoods, have together proposed a floating garden mandala to both engage the public in and educate it of urban ecology and its restorative properties.

Brown Box Season of Free Theater with Enhanced Audience ExperienceApplicant: Brown Box Theatre ProjectAward: $10,000

Brown Box Theatre Project’s professional, high-quality, and free performances will return to the Fort Point Channel for the fourth year with both indoor and outdoor performances, including Cymbeline. In addition, risers will accommodate larger audiences to improve views, ensuring that more attendees are able to easily enjoy this unique cultural experience.

BSA Space Sidewalk ActivationApplicant: BSA FoundationAward: $5,000

The BSA Space plans to launch a design ideas competition to activate their storefront and sidewalk that will help animate the urban waterfront and draw visitors to and from the waterfront with an enhanced public realm. The competition will begin in winter 2017 and a winner will be selected in spring 2017.

Discovering Fort Point Channel: A Science and Art Exploration of the Beings and Beauty of the WaterfrontApplicant: “e”, Inc.Award: $5,000

Previous grantee “e” inc. will return with its six-week marine science education program at Atlantic Wharf on Fort Point Channel this July and August. Youth from various urban summer camps and social service centers will be able to enjoy hands-on science lessons and experience rowing in Boston Harbor. 

Permanent & Dynamic: Floating Public ArtApplicant: Fort Point Arts CommunityAward: $5,000

The Fort Point Arts Community will bring more floating art to the Fort Point Channel, following prior successes of “Tropical Fort Point” and “Who Wears Wool,” the latter of which was also funded by the Fort Point Channel Operations Board.

Fort Point Channel Lunchtime Livery and Home Waters ProgramsApplicant: Hull Lifesaving MuseumAward: $10,000

For the fifth year, the Fort Point Lunchtime Livery Program will give community members and tourists alike the opportunity to rent row boats on the Fort Point Channel. Home Waters Program offers an experiential education program for more than 300 Boston-area youth and adults from every single neighborhood in the city.

About the Fort Point Watersheet Activation Plan

The grant program is part of the Fort Point Watersheet Activation Plan, established in 2002 by the Mayor's Office and the Boston Redevelopment Authority to spearhead a vision for a “Boston Common on the water.” The Plan, which proposed new cultural activities and year round programming, resulted from a successful collaborative effort between the City, landowners, nonprofit and cultural leaders, and residents. The Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Grant Program is funded by the Chapter 91 Waterways Regulations License for Atlantic Wharf, developed by Boston Properties.

About the Boston Redevelopment Authority

As the City of Boston’s urban planning and economic development agency, the BRA works in partnership with the community to plan Boston's future while respecting its past. The agency’s passionate and knowledgeable staff guides physical, social, and economic change in Boston’s neighborhoods and its downtown to shape a more prosperous, resilient, and vibrant city for all. The BRA also prepares residents for new opportunities through employment training, human services and job creation. Learn more at www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org, and follow us on Twitter @BostonRedevelop.