Triennial Accelerator
Open Call Application

An Accelerator is a small-group-based program that offers a range of resources and funding opportunities. It is not a fellowship or a grant. Inspired by business startup Accelerators, the Triennial’s Public Art Accelerator offers resources through education, mentorship, and funds to create your own project. At the end of the program, you'll have all the tools (intellectual, physical, emotional) you need to create a public artwork in one of Boston’s neighborhoods!

The Triennial 2025 iteration of the Public Art Accelerator (Cohort Seven) was an intense curriculum designed for experienced artists with the goal of installing a project by May 2025 as part of the first city citywide Boston Public Art Triennial. The traditional Public Art Accelerator returned with Cohort’s Eight and Nine as an opportunity for artists who have not yet made public art and are seeking to expand their practice. If you are an experienced public artist interested in being part of Triennial 2028, consider applying to the Cohort Ten open call, to be announced Fall 2026. 

Yes! Anyone is free to apply and we are interested in supporting artists who can demonstrate that they’re ready to make the leap to exterior work. Many past Accelerator artists had never created public art before this program.

Participation in the program entails signing a grant agreement and receiving funds that require being of legal adult age in the United States, 18 years old. We have found that due to the complexity and challenges of self-producing public art, the program is best suited for artists with a minimum 3–5 years of active studio practice and professional experience.  

No, not this year. If you are a local artist and have worked with us before to create public art, you are an experienced public artist who qualifies for the advanced Triennial Accelerator program, returning for the Triennial 2028. If you are an experienced public artist interested in being part of Triennial 2028, consider applying to the Cohort Ten open call, to be announced Fall 2026.

No. Artists are welcome to come to the Accelerator without a preconceived project.

Consider why hands-on support, resources, and the cohort experience of the Triennial Accelerator could benefit your practice at this moment. (Psst, it’s one of the questions!),

Select images that demonstrate you’re ready to create a project outside .t’s ok if you haven’t yet—show us projects that were complicated to produce instead. Please remember to use your captions to offer an explanation of the work, and, 

Get in touch with a collaborator, mentor, teacher, or colleague for a reference. References are due at the same time as your application and are auto-generated from Slideroom. PROTIP: Start an application on Slideroom and ask for a reference now to give them a few weeks! Your reference will receive an email request directly from Slideroom asking them to answer two questions about your work and practice.

Great question! Curious, empathetic, and tenacious are a few words that come to mind when thinking about artists who thrive in the program. We are eager to expand our support of local BIPOC, and LGBTQIA artists in the Triennial Public Art Accelerator and strongly encourage artists who are hungry to destabilize hierarchies and boundaries to apply. If you are interested in making art more accessible, approachable, and representative of Boston’s racial and cultural diversity, please submit! 

We have found that artists with an existing sculpture practice and/or experience in the realms of creative placemaking/placekeeping, architecture, and socially engaged art thrive most in this program, however, visual artists of all mediums are welcome to apply.

The Accelerator experience is 12 months total, from October 2026 to October 2027, and trust us, it goes by quickly! 

Between October 2026 and February 2027 artists are expected to participate in up to 15 workshops, which typically run 3 hours long with assignments in between sessions. During this time we cover intellectually and creatively rigorous topics as varied as the history of public art in Boston, project management from timelines to budget, theories of public engagement, and group critiques with each other and guest arts professionals. Artists will also develop a public art proposal during this time and practice pitching their project. We call this workshop and development period the Conceptual Design Phase.

The Implementation Phase, February to October 2027, is a self-directed time for artists to research materials and design with fabricators and engineers. Artists will also further develop their projects with community feedback and consultation from Triennial staff as they prepare for the actual creation and installation of their public art project. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider how much time they have to apply themselves to the demands of self-implementing a public art project. 

Only artists who intend to present a project for funding are eligible to apply. We understand life gets in the way, but we have funds we’d love to distribute to artists. If you have specific circumstances or questions, please sign up for a drop-in session.

No. All projects must be in the City of Boston. Projects in neighborhoods other than Downtown are encouraged. We will help with a map of potential locations and partners, and take lots of field trips, too!

Yes. Projects on curated sites (e.g., the Greenway, Esplanade) will not be considered.

As a public art organization, we primarily support projects presented in outdoor, publicly accessible spaces. While proposals may include multiple components—some of which can be indoors—the primary element of the work must be outdoors and accessible to the public for a minimum of 21 days.

As a Cohort we will typically meet on Wednesdays from 2-5 PM between October 2026 and February 2027, with exceptions for holidays. During the implementation period, February through October 2027, the cohort will no longer meet regularly but still have the opportunity to meet with Triennial staff for support.

No we won’t produce it, but we will help! We expect the program will equip you with all the skills necessary for you to propose and create a project. That said, we understand and have experienced many of the challenges of creating art in the public realm and will be here for you. The entire Triennial network—from curators to production specialists—are always available for free consultation as you produce your project in 2027.

Accelerator artists must attend at least 13 of the 15 workshops, with exceptions for health and personal emergencies. Each workshop is typically three to four hours long. While we don’t have “graded homework,” we provide strongly recommended steps to develop your project, and readings are offered for some workshops. You may also be asked to present or lead a discussion that will require advanced prep work. Finally, workshops will offer connections to other artists, organizers, and curators, who you will want to follow up with.

Workshops are primarily held in the Triennial office at 186 South Street, Boston, in the heart of the Leather District. Workshops may also be held on Zoom. In an effort to introduce you to Boston’s neighborhoods, we will sometimes meet at new locations for site visits (e.g., Roxbury, Dorchester, East Boston, Charlestown, etc).

No. However, a stipend of $1,500.00 paid upon entering the cohort can be used to cover expenses as artists see fit.

Greater Boston is qualified as any city within the I-495 beltway. We understand that rising costs of living and studio space have displaced artists with ties to Boston, so if you have significant ties to the city and consider yourself local and capable of attending workshops, you may also qualify! Please answer the application question asking about your ties to Boston (Question 10) to help us assess your qualification.

No. The Accelerator is open to all emerging and mid-career Greater Boston artists. You will, however, be asked to provide a reference with your application.

The application portal, Slideroom, will ask you for the name and email address of someone who can provide a recommendation. They’ll receive an email with a link to the portal where they’ll answer two questions about you. It’s a good idea to ask them before you sign them up and tell them to expect an email from notifications@slideroom.com. You can check to see if your reference was completed or send a reminder by logging into Slideroom and clicking on tab 2, References.

We recommend a reference who is familiar with your artistic practice and/or professional skillset, and who can speak to your potential as a public artist. We ask references to answer why this program is suitable for you at this point in your career, and what you might contribute to the public art landscape of Boston.

Your application is collected via Slideroom. You’ll be asked to respond to five mandatory questions, provide a Bio (or a CV/Resume), up to 10 images and corresponding information, and ask one person for a recommendation.

Select projects that demonstrate you’re ready to create a project outside, If you haven’t created a project outdoors, please show us works that were complicated to produce. While a cohesive body of work can show your strength in specific areas, public art is a diverse and interdisciplinary field, and showcasing a wider range of projects can show your capacity for growth and experimentation. 

Yes! In this case, you should submit one application that reflects your work as a collective or collaborators.

Studio GLD, Cynthia Gunardi, and Joel Lamere worked as a duo in Cohort One.  You may also involve other artists or partners in the final artwork you create, as Cat Mazza did in Cohort Two with students from UMass Boston.

Yes! Congratulations on submitting your application. Please email additional information (e.g., resume or CV) to us at info@thetriennial.org by the deadline: Friday, July 31, 11:59 PM.