Research notes for project planning
What the project record tells us
East Boston shipyard exhibition space
An imagined ruin can connect two places
Báez’s 2021 Watershed installation reimagined the Sans-Souci Palace in Haiti as an architectural presence within East Boston’s working waterfront. The ICA describes visitors moving through sculptural passages while encountering surfaces that connect Caribbean histories with the site around them. The precedent suggests beginning a spatial commission with relationships between places rather than borrowing an architectural motif only for its appearance. What local histories and routes through the building can help visitors discover why a distant reference belongs in this particular setting?
ICA Boston — Firelei Báez at the Watershed ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWhat local histories explain why a distant reference belongs in this setting?
Big Art Partners planning prompt MTA subway mosaic
Mosaic carries a painted vocabulary into transit
Ciguapa Antellana brought Báez’s imagery into the 163 Street–Amsterdam Avenue station in 2018 through a glass mosaic commission for MTA Arts & Design. The artist’s gallery documents the public project as a translation into an architectural surface used by everyday travelers. That example raises practical questions about how color, detail and narrative remain readable during brief encounters. A future brief should identify the viewing distances and movement patterns before the design is translated. Which elements must remain clear to riders passing without stopping?
James Cohan — Firelei Báez subway commission ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWhich elements must remain clear to riders passing without stopping?
Big Art Partners planning prompt Related Stephen Hamilton presentation
Contextual programming can have its own authorship
The ICA’s Watershed announcement paired Báez’s planned installation with a distinct Harbor Room presentation by Stephen Hamilton. His research into West African indigo traditions offered a local educational connection to histories referenced by the sculptural environment. Crediting that presentation separately matters: related programming can deepen an encounter without becoming an unacknowledged part of another artist’s work. For a comparable project, the host should define the relationship between artists and educators early. Who would develop the contextual material, and how would their contribution be credited?
ICA Boston — Watershed project announcement ↗ · Reviewed 2026-10-10
For your project briefWho would develop contextual material, and how would their contribution be credited?
Big Art Partners planning prompt 
