Triennial 2028
May—November
Boston, meet your next triennial
An extraordinary, citywide exhibition of free public art experiences designed to spark curiosity, connection, and participation across Boston
+ Meet the curators
+ What to expect
+ Get involved
+ Who we are
+ Archive
+ FAQs
Meet the Curators
Led by artistic director and chief curator Risa Puleo with curator Sam Rauch, the Triennial 2028 curatorial team brings together national public art expertise with deep connections to Boston’s artists, communities, and cultural organizations. Boston-based curators Jeffrey De Blois and Audrey N. Lopez will help shape the exhibition from within the city’s cultural ecosystem, while Jasper Sanchez will lead opportunities for Boston-based artists through the Public Art Accelerator.
“This curatorial team is committed to creating public art experiences that reflect Boston’s long history of collective action, coalition building, and social movements” — Risa Puleo, Artistic Director
Meet the team bringing new perspectives to Boston—and Boston’s creative energy to a national audience. Read the full press release here.
Artistic Director + Chief Curator
Risa Puleo
Independent curator Risa Puleo makes exhibitions that explore how artists intervene in social structures. Grounded in methods of abolition, sovereignty, and queer refusal, Risa approaches curatorial practice as a social practice using the exhibition space as a platform for community and solidarity building.
Her curatorial practice increasingly works towards implementing changes in the material, infrastructural, and social fabric of a place. In 2023 she was part of a team of curators for the 2023 Counterpublic Triennial in St. Louis, where she collaborated with Counterpublic’s director, James McAnally, and the Native film collaborative, New Red Order, to support the rematriation of this sacred site. The New York Times and Artforum hailed her exhibition Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System (2018) as a landmark, while Monarchs: Brown and Native Artists in the Path of the Butterfly (2018) was lauded for its poetry, for anticipating the contemporary art world’s interest in Native art, and for its on-the-ground research outside the art world’s coastal centers. Her exhibitions have been presented at arts organizations and museums across the country, including the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha; Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami; Blue Star Contemporary; the Southwest School of Art; the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art; the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle; Artpace, San Antonio; and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York City. Her writing has appeared in Art in America, Art Papers, Art21, Asia Art Pacific, Hyperallergic, and Modern Painters. She is based in Chicago.
Curator
Sam Rauch
Sam Rauch is an independent curator and producer of artist projects, primarily in public space. Since 2007, he has collaborated closely with some of the world’s leading artists to realize their most ambitious exhibitions, commissions, and site-specific installations. In the course of Director-level roles at Public Art Fund, the New Museum, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, and Madison Square Park, he has partnered with artists ranging from emerging to world-renowned, produced dynamic new works in virtually every conceivable medium and scale, and engaged diverse publics in New York City and globally, in contexts ranging from traditional museum and gallery spaces to public streets and parks, iconic urban landmarks, and important civic sites. His research focuses on prototyping experimental and interdisciplinary collaborative art practices that foster kinship, reciprocity, care, and repair within and between the human and more-than-human realms.
Boston, Something Big Is Coming
In 2025, The Exchange proved what is possible when extraordinary contemporary art enters Boston’s shared spaces. In 2028, we’re building on that momentum by diving deeper within our own communities. Expect:
+ Seven months of risk-taking, bold contemporary art
+ Works made for Boston—our histories, communities, and creative life
+ New perspectives from local, national, and international artists
+ Unexpected ways to experience art and engage in the city
+ Free and open to all
In short, Triennial 2028 will do more than simply coexist with life in Boston. It will live and breathe it.
“Art can help us see our city differently, connect with each other, and imagine new possibilities for Boston. The Triennial brings ambitious contemporary art into the everyday life of the city, while giving artists and communities a real role in shaping Boston’s cultural life. I’m excited to see what Risa and this team bring to Boston in 2028, and how theTriennial can help more people feel that art and culture are part of their city and something they can take part in.” — Joseph Henry, chief of arts and culture for the City of Boston
Get involved
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Donate now
Philanthropic support makes it possible for Boston Public Art Triennial to commission ambitious new work, invest in artists and community partnerships, and keep the exhibition free and accessible to people across Boston.
You can support The Triennial with a charitable gift online, by DAF, or by mail. Reach out to Gisela Levy, Development Manager, to learn more about multi-year support and sponsorship opportunities.
Who we are
2015
Now + There
Established in 2015 as Now + There, we are the city’s first and only public art organization dedicated to supporting artists and communities through bold, contemporary, public art. Our mission is to create bold public art experiences that open minds, conversations and spaces across Boston.
2025
The Exchange
In 2024, we changed our name to reflect what we do and where—public art for Boston, with a focus every three years on a free city-wide exhibition. Triennial 2025 brought artists and the public together in Boston’s neighborhoods and shared spaces, creating opportunities for discovery, connection, and participation in the city's cultural life.
2028
TRIENNIAL 2028
Triennial 2028 will build upon the momentum of 2025, balancing ambitious contemporary art with local stories.
Annually, we commission ambitious new work, invest in Boston-based artists through our Public Art Accelerator program, and build partnerships across communities and institutions to expand who can experience and shape contemporary art.
Archive
Adela Goldbard
Invadieron por mar, respondemos con fuego. Un presagio., 2025
A replica colonial sailing ship woven from invasive reeds culminated in a pyrotechnic performance confronting the violence and legacy of colonization across the Americas.
Laura Lima
Indistinct Form (Forma Indistinta), 2025
Created with wildlife experts, Lima’s installation places birds and woodland creatures at the center of the artwork, asking what it means to make art for other living beings.
Stephen Hamilton
Under the Spider’s Web, 2025
Oruko Pe: The Names are Complete, 2025
Hamilton brings West and Central African textile traditions into dialogue with painting, carving, and live weaving, reclaiming pre-colonial art and mythology through collaborative making.
Caledonia Curry a.k.a. Swoon
In the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction, 2025
Spanning sculpture, illustrations, and wheatpasted prints, Swoon’s multipart project reconsiders addiction through trauma, storytelling, and the possibility of healing.
FAQs
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A triennial is a contemporary art exhibition that occurs every three years—in this case, an exhibition that transforms Boston into an open-air gallery.
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Established in 2025, the Boston Public Art Triennial is the city’s first and only public art organization dedicated to supporting artists and communities through bold, contemporary, public art. Through its free, citywide Triennial and year-round programs, the organization brings artists and the public together in Boston’s neighborhoods and shared spaces, creating opportunities for discovery, connection, and participation in the cultural life of the city. The Triennial commissions ambitious new work, invests in Boston-based artists, and builds partnerships across communities and institutions to expand who can experience and shape contemporary art. Its mission is to create bold public art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston, contributing to a more open, equitable, and vibrant city. Follow us @thetriennial on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube.
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Triennial 2028 is being built in partnership with the City of Boston and numerous cultural and civic organizations. Learn about the last edition’s extraordinary partnerships here.
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Triennial 2028 will be hosted across multiple Boston neighborhoods. Projects will be positioned along a continuous route of public transportation to emphasize the idea of connection.
Final locations and a full map will be available on our website closer to the opening.
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Triennial 2028 will take place from May to November 2028, with future editions planned every three years (next in 2031).
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Yes! The Triennial is free and open to all. We believe art should be accessible to everyone and are committed to making this exhibition welcoming to all Boston residents and visitors.
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Absolutely. Visitors of all ages are welcome, and we encourage families to explore together.
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Artists: We are not accepting unsolicited proposals at this time. Local artists are encouraged to apply to the Triennial 2028 Public Art Accelerator for a chance to create a work as part of Triennial 2028. This advanced version of the Public Art Accelerator program will prepare three local artists to create large-scale, site-specific public artworks. The application opens November 2 and closes November 30, 2026.
Partners: We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to us at programs@thetriennial.org.
Supporters: Thank you for considering supporting Triennial 2028. Contact Gisela Levy for more information about corporate sponsorships and brand activations, artist, artwork, and community engagement support, and sustaining The Triennial year-round.