The “Others”

The “Others” is a public art project emblazoning Boston with the faces of immigrants, highlighting their contributions and showing the world we stand with them in solidarity. We believe the portraits are a beautiful and dignified response to an intensifying climate of fear and exclusion - one that will encourage conversation, reassure the world of our humanity, raise public consciousness and help move the needle at a policy level.

In the face of threats to our democracy, we answer - With love. With thoughtful reproach. With Art.

The “Others” aka Boston#StandsWithImmigrants seeks to make evident — in a visually arresting, yet human way — that immigrants and refugees are integral to the fabric of our society. And that ‘they’ are in fact ‘us.’ To do this, I projected portraits of local immigrants and refugees onto Boston’s urban landscape – towering, three-story projections of Yo-Yo Ma and David Ortiz, police officers and farmers, inhabiting the city’s buildings, bridges and trees.

The projections are both interactive (people happen upon them, which invites speculation, reflection, curiosity, and in-the-moment conversation), and enduring (photos of the projections will live on as a stand-alone body of work.)

I believe this project is effective because it cuts through the noise of our everyday existence. It’s unexpected, mysterious and beautiful. It provides a dignified answer to hate-filled rhetoric.  It confronts us without being confrontational and touches people at a time when we’re hungry for reassurance.

More about the project can be found at www.standswithimmigrants.org