Splashing across 2,500 feet of Prudential Center’s Boylston Street entrance will be Latinx muralist and graphic designer Yenny Hernandez’s forthcoming installation, “Ponle Vuelo A Tus Sueños/Let Your Dreams Take Flight,” a brightly-colored vinyl building wrap that will envelop two sides of the building’s exterior and will delight visitors with vibrant colors, tropical foliage, and nostalgic imagery. The new work, commissioned by Boston Properties (BXP) and curated by Boston’s Now + There public art organization, opens June 30. The opening event will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Hernandez’s “Ponle Vuelo A Tus Sueños/Let Your Dreams Take Flight,” pays homage to the pursuit of dreams and the Latinx journey to attain them. Using recognizable patterns and foliage, Mexican marigolds and tropical leaves, the artwork features a tropical parrot, referencing flight, and traditional coffee maker, a symbol meant to evoke grandmothers and kitchens in Latin America. The joyous, welcoming message is one of encouragement and positive reinforcement to the Latinx community which she feels can often be a journey of breaking through language, education, and socio-economic barriers.
“Yenny’s work explores a core belief that words have the power to transform and reframe our outlook on life, ourselves, and our experiences,” Now + There Executive Director Kate Gilbert said.
“We feel the energy of the City of Boston every day, and there is no better way to celebrate and contribute to our reinvigorated city than through public art,” Bryan Koop, Executive Vice President, Boston Region, BXP, said. “We’re thrilled to build on our long-standing partnership with Now + There and once again uses Prudential Center as a canvas to showcase diverse, local, emerging artists. Yenny’s inspiring message and vibrant mural will be the perfect addition to the “front door” of the Prudential Center – a warm and welcome sight for all those visiting Boston as well as those that call it home.”
In the evening hours, rainbow-colored lights will offset the bright mural on the outside of Prudential Center. Inside, the staircase will also feature additional art with bilingual words of encouragement woven throughout. A social media campaign based on the installation will ask participants to add their dreams and perspective on the American Dream to be compiled into a book.
“Encouragement is one of the few forms of exchange that costs nothing yet holds the power to be priceless to others,” Hernandez who is of Puerto Rican descent and now lives in Dorchester, said. “From reminding us to dream to sparking us to accept ourselves in every shape, gender, life stage, and mental state, uplifting words have the power to reframe our outlook on self, life, and experience.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Yenny Hernandez is a Latinx award-winning graphic designer and muralist from the North Shore of Boston, now residing in Dorchester. Of Puerto Rican descent her work pulls from her heritage and is often infused with vibrant colors and tropical foliage. Working in print, digital, and paint, Yenny’s work incorporates color, typography, and hand lettering. Her work includes messages of positivity, encouragement, and finding one’s voice. Striving to grow Latinx representation in design and illustration, her work has also begun to include Spanish and topics that speak specifically to the Latinx community.
ABOUT NOW + THERE
Now + There (N+T) is a non-profit public art curator changing the landscape of Boston with temporary and site-specific public artworks. Fostering artistic risk-taking by artists of diverse backgrounds and inspiring the public to co-create bold art experiences that open minds, conversations, and spaces across Boston is the organization’s goal, resulting in a more open, equitable, and vibrant city.
ABOUT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
Located in the heart of Boston’s historic Back Bay, Prudential Center is a destination by and for the city that inspired it. A place that lives firmly at the intersection of legacy and innovation. It’s not a shopping mall or an office building. It’s an enduring district within Boston that reinvents the everyday and promises discovery to everyone who enters. A destination for local and global arts and experiences,
Prudential Center features over 100 events annually, including rotating art installations. It’s a Boston foodie’s paradise, featuring Eataly Boston, Del Frisco’s, and Earl’s Kitchen + Bar and a fashionista’s favorite place to spend the day, with over 40+ brands including Mackage, Madewell, Lululemon, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Latinx artistmural
By Chadd Scott
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