You may have noticed some peculiar activity in Franklin Square over the past few days: caution tape, climbing ropes and tree climbers and a strange mass of white orbs suspended over the fountain. It's just us! Washington Gateway Main Street is proud to announce that our newest artistic light installation is near completion and ready to light up Franklin Park. A few minor adjustments today and we will be up and running.

"Nimbus" is an artistic light installation created by artists Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss, renowned Boston artists, with recent works in the Fort Point neighborhood. Their newest creation,"Nimbus," consists of 26 orbs that hover above the fountain and will illuminate the park with various colors each night.

From the artists: "Our goal in making art for the public realm is to evoke a sense of discovery as people encounter the unexpected in a familiar space. We hope to rouse curiosity in passersby, increasing their capacity to observe what the park offers: a contemplative area to experience the green and the beauty of the earth in an urban setting.

We used the iconography of a cloud to create a sculptural light piece above the Blackstone Fountain in Franklin Square. We found our inspiration in one of NASA's earliest environmental satellite programs, first launched in the mid-1960s, the Nimbus Satellite Missions. The Nimbus program and the data that was collected allowed scientists to measure the Earth's radiation for the first time and observe solar radiation entering and exiting the Earth's system. These observations helped to verify and refine the earliest climate models and observation of the polar ice caps. The contribution of the Nimbus satellite program and the study of the data from these missions provide vital information on global warming today. We hope that by making reference to the this early program, those that encounter our "Nimbus" will be inspired to study further the history of this program, global warming and the importance of urban green space."

Washington Gateway Main Street would like to thank Claudia and Michael for creating such an innovative and impactful piece of art that will adorn the park. We would also like to thank the arborists, Eric Whipple, Andrew Joslin and Sean O'Brien, who spent the past few days scaling the trees and setting the lines that suspend the lighting in a way that has no negative impact on our park's beautiful trees.

Join us for the official lighting of "Nimbus"
Tuesday, October 17
6:30pm
Franklin Square Park

Reception to follow at Anoush'ella, co-hosted by Washington Gateway Main Street and Blackstone Franklin Square Neighborhood Association.