Amidst a pandemic that kept us apart, the power of art continued to prevail, and offer ways to keep us connected.

The Somernova Art Project was a collaboration among SOMERNOVA, the Somerville Arts Council, and Call to Arts. The goal of this project was to support local artists and provide the community with an opportunity to create public art that celebrates the spirit of the city we all love.

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A visual reminder of Somerville’s hope & resilience.

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The words are displayed in two ways, both as a simple bold sign and as shadows. Letters are mounted perpendicular to the wall and when illuminated by the sun, the words appear dynamically as shadows that change with the weather and seasons; peak viewing time is 11 a.m.

It is the artist’s hope that the perception of the project changes throughout time and allows us the time to pause and instill a sense of appreciation in the world around us.

Hope Shadows responds to the site throughout the day and involves community-sourced elements

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HOPE SHADOWS, by Katherine Chin, is a 140 FT site-specific text based installation located on the corner of Dane and Tyler Streets. The installation is a call to action to society to see each new day in a different light and instill a sense of appreciation in the ordinary.

By displaying crowd-sourced responses to the prompt “what words or phrases get you through the day?” HOPE SHADOWS celebrates the diverse voices from the Somerville. Colorful letters cast shadows when illuminated by the sun that change with the weather and the seasons.

The shadows appear and disappear throughout the day creating a dynamic installation that is constantly changing.

Katherine Chin is an installation artist from Somerville. She creates site specific installations that respond to the built environment. Her prior work includes large-scale projection mapping animations for ILLUMINUS Boston and collaborating on a floating art installation illustrating sea level rise in the Fort Point Channel

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Crowdsourcing

Community Response.

The public was invited to contribute to the installation by submitting words and phrases via web, text, and social media during the submission period from July 18 - July 27, 2020.

Most submissions were received via the text line, followed by the website, and then social media. Submissions received: 184

Words & phrases submitted by the Somerville community.

  • There are templates for success but there are no templates for greatness.Bump factor

  • Gucci

  • 80,000 stories

  • Grit

  • Good trouble

  • Giggle

  • Next level

  • Hope

  • do you

  • Nerve

  • Basic

  • stay funky

  • Rad

  • Fuck

  • The Man

  • Compassion

  • UNF*CKWITHABLE

  • Change is Possible

  • YOU GOT THIS!

  • Gag

  • Chicken nugget

  • Create

  • Patience

  • Preservation

  • I am worthy

  • Breathe In

  • Life is just a state of mind

  • This is a wonderful day, I've never seen this one before

  • Slay

  • Necessary trouble

  • Good trouble

  • I appreciate your existence so much

  • Slow down

  • #livingthespicylife

  • koinonia

  • Just breathe

  • It'll be ok

  • Bae

  • Give more

  • Righteous creativity

  • Don't be afraid to create.

  • Create value

  • Keep climbing

  • Feelin' salty

  • Lowkey badass

  • Be what you want to see

  • Be extra.

  • I am perfect.

  • Nobody is perfect.

  • Kindness is powerful.

  • Prove them wrong

  • I can and I will.

  • This too shall pass

  • What the fluff?

  • Shade

  • I can do this

  • We can do this

  • Clock

  • You can do this

  • Biggie cheese

  • Flaws make perfection

  • Create yourself

  • Keep going.

  • May my ambitions be bigger than my fears.

  • Have courage and be kind

  • She believed she could, so she did

  • Still I rise

  • I was not built to break

  • Be here now

  • Create what you want to see

  • Let it be

  • "Be a rainbow in somebody else's clouds.”

  • Hundo p

  • Keep it 100

  • Live your best life

  • Let's get this bread

  • Sorry not sorry

  • Ok boomer

  • Hate to see it

  • Learn to roar

  • “You must find a way to get in the way and get in good trouble, necessary trouble… You have a moral obligation, a mission, and a mandate, when you leave here, to go out and seek justice for all. You can do it. You must do it.” - Rep John Lewis

  • Realnesa

  • No rain, no flowers

  • No cap

  • I am enough

  • Progress is worth it

  • Swerve

  • Abundant hope

  • Good things take time

  • be you do you for you

  • Slaps

  • Prove them wrong

  • Remember why you started

  • No pressure, no diamonds.

  • TBH

  • There is bravery in being soft

  • If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy

  • Send it

  • Radical integrity

  • Say her name

  • Righteous justice

  • This sh*t is bananas

  • This too shall pass.

  • Dont forget your keys

  • Beautiful genius

  • Kiki

  • I will make better mistakes tomorrow

  • The only way out is through

  • Eat a snack

  • Righteous radish

  • Open your eyes

  • Beat

  • Encourage your Curiosity

  • Gimme pizza

  • Mood

  • Dream big

  • Salty

  • The most, radical audacious thing to think is there might be some point to working hard, thinking hard, reading hard, writing hard and trying to be of service.

  • Audacity

  • History favors the bold

  • find out what the point is

  • Get in Good trouble; necessary trouble!

  • Black lives matter

  • F*ck the man

  • It's choice not chance that determines your destiny

  • Still I rise - maya Angelou

  • JUST YOU TRY AND FUCKING STOP ME !

  • GET IN GOOD TROUBLE

  • Be kind, be kind, be kind.

  • If it was easy, anybody could do it

  • The way you do anything is the way you do everything.Hope is a waking dream. - Aristotle

  • You've got this!

  • Make the world you want

  • Get in good trouble, necessary trouble! (John Lewis)

  • Wake up and smell the roses

  • The only way out is through

  • F*CK YES

  • Today is a new day

  • You can do this!

  • Things do not happen. They are made to happen. - JFK

  • Two steps forward, one step back, is still forward.

  • Hot diggity dog

  • You are the light.

  • funky fresh

  • Bippity Boppity Boo

  • Keep on at it

  • Take a breath

  • You got this

  • Who do you want to be?

  • hot damn

  • You are loved

  • Inhale. Exhale.

  • i like turtles

  • Start fresh

  • be you.

  • I like big butts and I cannot lie

  • beauty is everywhere

  • Meraki

  • You can’t do epic sh*t with basic people.

  • "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America." - John Lewis

  • Who run the world? Girls!

  • “May the force be with you”

  • “Be water”

  • “In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” - Buddha

  • “If you’ll be thinking anyways, you might as well think big.”

  • Just keep swimming

  • I love myself.

  • The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

  • Seek justice for all

  • Good trouble

  • You can, you must.

  • The only way out is through

  • The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

  • You must find a way to get in the way and get in good trouble, necessary trouble - John Lewis

  • I am someone's daughter too - AOC

  • If you wish to suffer unnecessarily, start to compare yourself to others

  • "Do the next right thing" (heard on the Invisibilia podcast)

  • Chin up

  • Be weird

  • Worrying is a waste of the imagination

  • By Felicia

  • Determination

  • What's next?

  • This too shall pass

  • It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

  • Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.

  • Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.