Local Residents Will Create Public Art In Natick

NATICK, MA — Drawing on the creativity of residents, two public art installations — one planned in Natick, one in Framingham — will soon illustrate the need for local energy conservation.

At sites in each community, a pair of 8-foot-by-8-foot walls and an overhead awning will mimic the corner of a house. But no ordinary one.

The “interior” walls will display murals related to conservation, using community input, a news release says. The “exterior” will be a mosaic of wooden shingles, each painted creatively by residents in a series of more than 20 workshops across Natick and Framingham.

Officials in each municipality are inviting residents to take part in the workshops, which are scheduled for this spring at local schools, libraries, churches and other sites.

The goal of the project, dubbed “A Home for Our Future Generations,” is to use “community participation as both an artistic and educational tool, connecting creative expression with practical conversations about energy conservation,” according to the release.

Two professional artists, Julia Csekö and Raquel Fornasaro, are leading the project. Both have worked previously on Boston-area public artworks, and a statue by Fornasaro was erected in 2022 as part of Framingham's "Many Cultures, One Heart" installation.

The "Future Generations" project is funded by Mass Save, a collaboration of utilities and energy-efficiency services in the commonwealth.

To learn more about the project, click here.