18 This summer, about 100 residents, business owners, and curious passersby gathered in Lafayette Square Park, Central Square, for a tour of the weathered brick and cement walls of 10 area buildings—the future canvases for the Central Square Mural Project. “Art is an important medium and we live in Boston where we have no shortage of institutions where people can experience fine art,” says Michael Monestime, executive director of the Central Square Business Association (CSBA) and the tour guide. “It’s important that art be accessible, and through this mural project, we will be creating an open gallery right here for every- one in Central Square.” A group of 10 artists from Cambridge and Boston are transforming the highly visible building walls into abstract and interpretative murals this fall, in celebration of the neighborhood’s long historic past, its life in the present moment, and its hope for the future. The Mural Project is an endeavor of the CSBA, in part- nership with the Cambridge Community Foundation, to bring vibrancy to a neighborhood in transition, and to colorfully recognize the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s designation of the area as a cultural district, the only such district within the city. A large grant this year from the Foundation provided seed money for a range of efforts in the cultural district community, in addition to the Mural Project. Support of arts and culture is a priority for the Foun- dation. “Central Square captures the essence of the community’s cultural richness in a city of ideas, where people gather from all over the world to solve problems,” says Geeta Pradhan, president of CCF. “And for a place that has innovation in its genes, culture and the arts are very important, because they foster imagination and creativity—the pre-conditions of innovation.” Caleb Neelon is a mural artist known locally and inter- nationally and a Cambridge resident. “These are walls that I’ve looked at since I was a teenager and started doing things on walls,” he says. “So this is a very exciting process to see how the square will transform.” Ten artists are transforming Central Square walls into art (Artist Victor Quiñones pictured above with his piece Queendom on Mass Ave.) Photos by Todd Mazer, Central Square Business Association, and Jeffrey Blackwell GRANTMAKING From walls to art in Central Square Cultural Richness