Malcolm X Park Public Art Projects
Multiple Artists
We commissioned artists to create murals on three of the basketball courts at Malcolm X Park and the adjacent wall of BCYF Shelburne in Roxbury.
Join us to celebrate the three new basketball court murals on October 19, 2024 from 1 - 4 p.m.! This free event will have food, music, family activities, and live performances. RSVP here.
-
Project Site150 M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Boston, MA 02119
-
Neighborhood
-
Plan Your Visit
-
Project Information- Project Phase: Complete
- Partners: Department of Parks and Recreation, BCYF Shelburne
-
Have questions? Contact:
About the Murals
The renovation of Malcolm X Park (completed in 2023) aimed to enhance the recreation for children of all ages, increase lighting, improve courts, and offer art and educational spaces.
The Boston Art Commission and the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the City's mural consultant, Street Theory, commissioned four new artworks to complement the park's renovation: a mural on an exterior wall of the BCYF Shelburne, and three murals on the park's basketball courts.
A Legacy of Color | BCYF Shelburne
Artists: Geo 'GoFive' Ortega with Luis ‘Take One’ Taforo
The artists' ties to Roxbury shine through in this mural, paying homage to the legacy of Malcolm X., the neighborhood, and its community. On the left side of the mural, a young boy is seen putting on shoes that are too large for him. This image represents young people stepping into the legacy that they want to build for themselves, even when they don't feel ready yet, serving as a reminder that the right time to start is always the present.
Give Them Their Flowers | Court #1
Artists: Rob 'ProBlak' Gibbs with Lee ‘Soems’ Beard, Ricardo ‘DEME5’ Gomez, Michael Talbot, Ayana Mack, and Luis Urena
Give Them Their Flowers is the creative vision Roxbury-native Rob ‘ProBlak’ Gibbs and his team of Boston artists hailing from Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester. With a prominent “X” running across the court, a reference to both Malcolm X and Gibbs’ beloved neighborhood, the mural is a celebration of the city and the people he loves and honors. “Giving someone their flowers” is an act of paying respect to someone, highlighting and acknowledging an individual's contributions, achievements, struggles, and successes that might not be well known.
“A strong, dedicated team can help you achieve the dream,” reflected Rob ‘ProBlak’ Gibbs. “This isn’t the work of just one person; this piece reflects who we are, who cares, and how we were raised. Together, we’ve created something lasting—a heartfelt testament to our Love and commitment to a place we call home.
We were raised to care deeply about our community, and we’re not just building something functional; we’re building something purposeful. Something that speaks to the heart of this area, something for the youth to inherit. This is Roxbury Love, Breathing Life into this destination for years to come.”
Anything Under The Suns | Court #2
Artists: Sydney G. James (Detroit, MI) with Gina ‘FlowrBomb’ Latham (Roxbury, MA), Ijania Cortez (Detroit), Nadd Harvin/Nadd the Nomad, (Richmond, VA), Sagie Vangelina (Roxbury, MA), Sharinna ‘Rinna’ Travieso (Worcester, MA)
Inspired by Malcolm X’s powerful words, When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom, artist Sydney G. James led an all-female team to create a striking mural that celebrates the deep connection between Detroit and Roxbury while honoring Malcolm X’s vital teachings on the importance of freedom. City parks and basketball courts serve as symbols of unrestrained freedom, and in this mural, figures burst forth from the court, reaching for the stars.
“It was truly a privilege and honor leading the super talented group of young women artists to create "Anything Under the Suns…," said lead artist Sydney G. James. “The piece was designed to reflect all of our individual artistic styles which resulted in a harmonic composition and harmonic and diligent working environment. It was everyone on our Team's first time painting on a basketball court. The image we created, the beautiful Roxbury community, and the words that inspired it gave us the proper motivation to do the work beautifully and efficiently."
X-Legacy | Court #3
Artists: Otra Ciudad and Nómada Estudio Urbano. Nicolas Orellana (Boston, MA), Sebastian Cuevas (Santiago, Chile), Miguel Mendoza (Ciudad Juárez, Mexico)
X-Legacy is a collaboration between a Boston-based team and international partner who created a hybrid collage between the legacy of Malcolm X and the resilience and transformative power of the community in Roxbury. Through patterns, geometries, iconography, and a vibrant color palette, the aim of X-Legacy is to create a new urban narrative that promotes the empowerment of the residents. Additionally, the graphics on the court adapt to the lines of the game, ensuring that the artwork does not become intrusive during a basketball game.
"Participating in the Malcolm X Park project has been an incredible honor, especially alongside such talented teams,” said Nicolas Orellana of Otra Ciudad. “As a Hispanic group, being able to give back to Boston, and especially to a neighborhood like Roxbury—so rich in culture, history, and resilience—has been deeply rewarding. The community’s warmth and gratitude reminds us why public art work matters. Locals have welcomed us, and their support means the world. We hope this vibrant artwork will inspire even more people to enjoy and celebrate this meaningful space."
About the Artists
Geo "GoFive" Ortega and Luis "Take1" TAforo
For over eight years, GoFive has provided the public of Boston with access to creative and inventive installations of public art. Through the medium of aerosol, and drawing on the rich mural and graffiti traditions associated with inner city Boston, he has worked to create a body of art that attracts diverse groups of people, all while paying homage to the unique qualities of the communities in which he works. He believes that by painting a mural within the community that he originated from will provide an experience that is not only rich artistically but also personally. One that will result in a permanent artistic resource for the community.
Growing up in Boston, Take1 was exposed to all forms of creativity and expression. The one art form that spoke the loudest was graffiti. For a Latinx teen growing up in the South End and Roxbury, there were many pitfalls in place to hinder his growth. Graffiti art provided a safety net and friends that helped keep him safe. As a graffiti artist, Take1, honed his skills over 25+ years, and met like-minded people through the ALA (African Latino Alliance) and GN (Graff Nuts) crews. Thanks to the influences and guidance of his crewmates, Wiso was able to continue to grow his voice and art form. In his opinion, graffiti has changed the way art is perceived and implemented in Boston and the world as a whole. As a member of the Boston community, every opportunity to paint as mural is an opportunity to show young people, especially people of color, that their voices will and do affect positive change in their communities.
Rob “Problak” Gibbs
Rob “Problak” Gibbs is a visual artist and organizer who has transformed the cultural landscape of Boston through graffiti art since 1991.
Growing up in Roxbury during the Hip-Hop Golden Age, Problak saw the power of graffiti as a form of self expression. Graffiti became a tool for him, and others in his community, to chronicle and immortalize their culture and history. For Problak, graffiti acts as a contemporary form of hieroglyphs, a way to document and pay homage to underserved, underhead communities in the city. His vision- to beautify the predominantly black and brown communities of Boston- is a driving force behind his artistic practice.
For Basketball Court #1, Problak led a diverse team of local artists consisting of Lee "Soems" Beard, DEME5, Michael Talbot, Ayana Mack, and Luis Urena.
Sydney G. James
Fine arts painter and muralist Sydney G. James is proudly a girl raised in, and by, Detroit. Her name is synonymous with colors and brushwork as strikingly defiant, and ever changing, as the city itself. Since returning to her hometown in 2011, Sydney has personified artist in flow, quickly building upon her creative roots as a BFA graduate of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. Her murals have transformed Detroit’s skyline and its arts narrative, and helped her earn a coveted 2017 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship. But it is Sydney’s artworks – on walls, on canvas, on fabric, on Vans shoes; on whatever she damned well chooses – that give her name and her life a fierce focus. She is a painter on a pointed mission to let each brush stroke spark conversations long silenced. In paintings and murals, Black women are first. Never last and never forgotten. Her works boldly rewrite the narrative in hues evoking the complexities of Black reality, joy and pain, and phoenix-like resilience.
For Basketball Court #2, Sydney led a team of five femme and non-gender conforming artists: BakPak Durden, Nadd the Nomad, Flowrbomb, Sagie, and Rinna, hailing from Detroit, Roxbury, and the Greater Boston area.
Otra Ciudad (with Nomada Urbano)
As a visionary architect, Otra Ciudad has participated in a diverse range of projects, from community parks to expansive international airport terminals. No matter the size, the human scale remains a steadfast focus. In every endeavor, understanding the interplay between spatial configuration and social behavior is fundamental. The ultimate aim is to create spaces that resonate with human vitality.
Otra Ciudad's grounding in this philosophy did not stem from traditional architectural academia. Instead, it blossomed on the streets, with murals painted as a tactile response to urban decay, aiming to revitalize spaces for the community.
For Basketball Court #3, Otra Ciudad joined forces with Nomada Estudio, an esteemed urban design studio based in Mexico.
Project Context
The City of Boston commissioned these four murals as part of the third round of the Transformative Public Art Program. The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture allocated more than $1 million toward murals at 10 sites across nine neighborhoods as part of the program. The total budget for these projects is $525,000.
Malcolm X Park is currently undergoing an $8.8 million renovation project by the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. This project is the City’s first equitable procurement project and has included many community meetings. At these community meetings, repeated requests were made to include public art in the project. In collaboration with the Parks Department and a Roxbury community working group, we were able to identify four locations for public art at this site:
- three of the new basketball courts in the park
- vertical mural on the rear facade of the BCYF Shelburne community center.
The City released a Call for Artists for the three long-term basketball court murals in March of 2022, seeking artists and/or artist teams that would capture the essence of the Roxbury neighborhood, its lively community, Malcolm X Park, and the legacy of its namesake.
The Site
Built in 1867, Malcolm X Park is one of the most expansive & programmed recreational parks. Spread over 10 acres, the sprawling green offers access to a playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a swimming pool and ice skating arena.
Commissioning Process
The City released a Call for Artists for the three long-term basketball court murals in March of 2022, seeking artists and/or artist teams that would capture the essence of the Roxbury neighborhood, its lively community, Malcolm X Park, and the legacy of its namesake.
Several artists were invited to interview with an Artist Selection Committee. The Committee was comprised of:
- Malcolm X Park Public Art Working Group, which was comprised of community leaders & liaisons, park users, local artists representing the interests of the neighborhood
- Representatives from the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture
- Team members from the Parks & Recreation Department
Related Resources
Related Resources-
Project Site
150 M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Boston, MA 02119
-
Neighborhood
-
Plan Your Visit
-
Project Information
- Project Phase: Complete
- Partners: Department of Parks and Recreation, BCYF Shelburne
-
Have questions? Contact:
