New Photo-Essay Explores Boston Waterfront

For the past several years, Barr and a range of partners have worked together to ensure that all people can both access and benefit from Boston’s waterfront, one of our greatest public resources. In doing this work, we can be easily caught up in debates about zoning codes, regulatory frameworks, and legal considerations and risk losing sight of arguably the most important factor at play: the human experience. To identify the solutions that will make a difference in people’s lives, we need to be close enough to understand what people want and need from their waterfront.

That’s why Barr commissioned artist Leonardo March to explore the Boston Harbor waterfront this past summer—through his camera lens. Leo’s new photo-essay, Another Room in the House, does what art can do so powerfully: confront reality, pose difficult questions, and inspire new ideas.

Leo, who was an artist-ethnographer for Boston Creates, surveyed the many places and ways Boston residents and visitors interact (or don’t) with the waterfront today, from Dorchester to East Boston and in between. Another Room in the House shows us how widely experiences range and compels us to consider who feels welcome and who does not. It also reminds us that we can change this for the better, ending with an observation by architect Léon Krier that, “A city is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims,” which Leo found inscribed in LoPresti Park in East Boston.

Another Room in the House shows us how widely experiences [on the Boston waterfront] range and compels us to consider who feels welcome and who does not.

We at Barr encourage you to view and share this digital presentation of Leo’s work and to visit a physical exhibit at the Gallery at Atlantic Wharf now through March 16, curated by Kate Chertavian Fine Arts, and generously hosted by Boston Properties and programmed by Fort Point Arts Community. Mark your calendar and register free of charge for an opening reception and artist talk on Tuesday, January 22, at 5:30 p.m.

If you are eager to share your own experiences and ideas for Boston’s waterfront, please use the hashtags #OurWaterfront and #PeoplesHarbor to join the conversation.

Explore Another Room in the House

The Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act and Atlantic Wharf