MAYOR MICHELLE WU ANNOUNCES THE RELAUNCH OF BOSTON’S ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM, AiR BOSTON

MAYOR MICHELLE WU ANNOUNCES THE RELAUNCH OF BOSTON’S ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM, AiR BOSTON 

Year-long residencies will bring artists, communities, and City government together to explore civic challenges and test new ways of working

Ashton Lites, aka Stiggity Stackz, served as anArtist-in-
Residencein 2023. Partnering with theParksDepartment
to explore how the City could improvepublicparks by
creating infrastructure for dance, he launched “ItSt(Arts)
in the Park,” which included free dance classes,local
artist showcases, and outdoor screenings of adocuseries
celebrating Boston’s freestyle dance pioneers. Image isfroma
recent event held by Stack The City, a free
neighborhood-basedfreestyle dance league for youth that
wasanoutgrowthof Mr. Lites’ work as an Artist-in-Residence.

BOSTON – Thursday, October 15, 2026 – Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture today announced the relaunch of AiR Boston, a year-long innovative artist residency program that brings artists into city government to explore the complex challenges facing Boston and bring new forms of creative practice, research, and experimentation into City government. The program, which previously ran from 2015 to 2023, will return in 2027 with applications for artists opening today.

The City is actively seeking three artists to join the Boston Public Health Commission, the City of Boston Archives, and the Housing Innovation Lab within the Mayor's Office of Housing for year-long residencies. Each artist will work in partnership with a host department and a community-based organization of their choosing to explore a specific public challenge or opportunity—expanding the ways the City considers and executes its own work.

 

“Arts have the power to inspire, broaden perspectives and bring communities together,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “By bringing artists into our health, housing and archives departments, we are connecting creativity with public service to strengthen our local economy and help every resident feel more connected to our City. I look forward to seeing how their unique perspectives will help us continue delivering for our residents.”



As Boston confronts increasingly complex challenges, from affordability to climate change, AiR Boston brings artists into the heart of city government to challenge conventional thinking, test new ideas, and imagine different ways of working toward the common good.

“AiR Boston is both an investment in Boston’s creative workforce and an investment in the capacity of City government to listen, learn, experiment, and develop new ways of working. Artists already do essential civic work across our city bringing people together, asking different questions, and helping us imagine what might be possible,” said Joseph Henry, Chief of the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. “AiR brings that creative practice into City Hall, creating space for artists and public servants to learn from one another and make that learning public. It reflects our wider ambition for culture in Boston: to support creative people, enable everyone to shape our cultural life, and put culture to work for the common good.”

During their tenure with AiR Boston, artists will have the creative freedom to develop projects that reflect their unique practice and vision. Depending on the artist's approach, participants may produce gatherings, publications, performances, exhibitions, public conversations, civic tools, or other forms of public engagement. Work created through this program will be made accessible to the public throughout the residency 

Since its launch in 2015, Boston's Artist-in-Residence program has supported over 30 artists working across City departments. Following a strategic pause, MOAC worked with local artists and community members to redesign the program for its next chapter. Relaunched as AiR Boston, the program builds on that history while placing greater emphasis on artists as civic practitioners, working with communities and City government to research challenges, test ideas, strengthen relationships, and develop new approaches to public work. 

In 2016-17, Boston Artist-in-Residence Salvador Jiménez-Flores, an interdisciplinary artist who is currently a professor and Chair of the Ceramics Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, taught printmaking to over 100 fifth and sixth graders, creating a three-part mural celebrating Chinatown’s immigrant communities, diversity, and cultural heritage. Made from students’ individual prints, the mural is now displayed at the Pao Arts Center.

“In chaotic times, artists are not here simply to beautify the world; we are here to question it, to disturb its silences, and to imagine what it has not yet had the courage to become,” said Salvador Jiménez-Flores. “My time as an Artist-in-Residence taught me that when an artist listens deeply to a community and transforms those voices into something visible. To invest in artists is to invest in a community’s ability to see itself—and to imagine itself otherwise.”

Boston Artist-in-Residence Ellice Patterson, Founder/Executive & Artistic Director of Abilities Dance, collaborated with the Boston Transportation Department to advocate for more accessible streets and public spaces, using community conversations, protest crawls, and writing to highlight barriers and inform more inclusive approaches to urban design. 

"AiR Boston was a pivotal experience for my career, providing me with the resources and space to deeply explore disability justice beyond the arts and into the civic space of transportation," said Ellice Patterson. "I have had my own inaccessible experiences in transportation, so being able to share my and others' experiences in a tangible way was very fulfilling. It is incredibly exciting to see the program relaunch for 2027, as it continues to be a vital platform for artists to push boundaries and foster community in Boston."

Applications for AiR Boston are due by January 4, 2027 at 2:00 p.m. The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture is available to support artists with their submission:

• Online Q&A Session: November 10, 2026
• Email questions to: deen.rawlinsharris@boston.gov by November 13, 2026 (include RFP number EV00017855 in subject line)
• Full Q&A posted online: November 20, 2026 
• Optional Supplier Portal Support: December 1, 2026 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
• Application deadline: January 4, 2027 by 2:00 p.m.
• AiR Boston artists announced: February, 2027

Detailed information and links to resources can be found at boston.gov/air-boston.