Place Report: Newsprint Art in Allston

Place Report: Newsprint Art in Allston

Allston Art in Print
Allston Art in Print

When Harvard University expanded across the Charles River a few years ago, it launched a number of parallel placemaking initiatives.  Zone 3 is a name I've seen associated with the section of Boston that is the focus of their efforts. Maybe it's the project name, not a geographic name. ("Allston" is the old-fashioned Boston neighborhood name.)

Most of these placemaking initiatives were shut down, or severely curtailed during the Covid lockdown. 

Except Art in Print, which puts out editions of prints by local artists for 25 cents. It is now on its seventh edition. 

These prints are dispensed in old fashioned metal boxes, so called "honor boxes," that used to cluster on street corners all over the city. 

Here's a map of the four locations where the boxes are situated. 

Map of Zone3

This project was created in partnership with the Newspaper Club, a spunky UK-based artisanal newsprint publisher. 

I visited the area a few times with a pocketful of quarters. 

Check out this video to get a look at the project, and a bunch of the posters. 

These posters are like Placemaking-to-Go. 

Not all of them are good. Some got recycled. But many spent a few days in a rotating display on a wall. And one, with a Covid theme, is still on my studio door. 

poster on door

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