Community Art Unveiled At Charles MGH Station

Hundreds of students and members of the Beacon Hill Community joined T officials at Charles/MGH station to officially unveil community art. Organized by The Advent School, the work is a collage of pieces created by over thirty local businesses and schools, from recycled materials donated by neighbors, families and the Children Museum’s Recycling Center. The work is made of approximately 40 panels of woven recycled materials and 20 Plexiglass paintings. The piece is titled “Be The Change You Wish To See in the World,” which is a quote from Mahatma Gandhi and will hang in the large glass-walled entryway of the renovated T-stop.

“The MBTA has been, and continues to be, a supporter of placing art in stations to create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for the commuting public,” said MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas. “The present collection has grown to over 90 pieces on six transit lines - and today we add Charles/MGH to that list.”

"When the T project was first conceived, we envisioned children from The Advent School - with their compelling desire to preserve the environment - spearheading a community work of art made from recycled materials,” said Advent School Head Nancy Harris Frohlich. “People from every corner of the neighborhood quickly joined in, bringing new ideas to the collage-making process. Looking at the outcome of our shared action, we are in awe of the energy this project generated and of all those, like our children, who imagine our world as a better place."

“It’s truly a community project,” says Jaime Bard, Director of Admission and Community at The Advent School, and the person who initially conceived the project. “The Charles/MGH stop is literally and symbolically the portal to our Beacon Hill Community, and we wanted to create something that reflected the people and places of the neighborhood while welcoming visitors to our community. So it was important for us to involve as many people as possible.”

The highlight of the ceremony was a special guest speaker, Advent School 5th grader, Sophie Wasniewski who reflected on how she and her fellow classmates used art to describe their hopes and dreams of the future. “I am hoping, along with other students, that people who see our artwork at the train station will understand how committed we are to the environment and that they will be willing to make the same change that we hope to see in the future. I want the people of Boston to learn that there is a change in the future and all you have to do is dream – and then make it happen,” said Sophie Wasniewski.