The Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Piece for Fog Space - Asha Tamirisa
2018-10-20 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Fog x Island, Allerton Overlook, Olmsted Park
An intimate, site-specific performance that crafts an ephemeral architecture through sound and physical material, reflecting the transient architecture of Fujiko Nakaya’s fog sculptures.
Asha Tamirisa works with sound & image and researches media histories. Particular interests include tool-building with both software and hardware, experimental music and film, and intermedia composition & installation. Asha’s research integrates media archeological methods with feminist science and technology studies perspectives, looking closely and critically at often forgotten elements and conditions of media. Currently, Asha is a doctoral student at Brown University in the Computer Music and Multimedia department, and is concurrently pursuing an M.A. in Modern Culture and Media. Asha is a founding member of OPENSIGNAL, a group of artists concerned with the state of gender and race in electronic music/art practices.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy generously provided by Barbara and Amos Hostetter and the Eugene M. Lang Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Boston Foundation, as well as by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Vanishing Species: A Tenuous Grasp
2018-10-20 14:30 - 15:00 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
The Franklin Park Zoo will depict the extinction of animals and the conservation efforts of zoos to slow or prevent the loss of biodiversity. Performers, including zookeepers, will use photographs of animals, both extinct and brought back from the brink of extinction, to intertwine Olmsted’s vision for Franklin Park with the global conservation work of the modern zoo. This performance will include two narrators: an actor portraying Frederick Law Olmsted and a zoo historian.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Storytelling in the Fog
2018-10-20 13:00 - 14:00 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
Join renowned Boston performance artist Valerie Stephens for a storytelling event in Franklin Park at Fog x Ruins. This is a sculpture made out of fog by that captures the magic and boundless creativity of people of all ages.
Valerie has created a unique story that builds on the legacy of the cultural icon Elma Lewis, founder of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, who taught performance art to children in Franklin Park and invited legendary performers for community events.
Valerie’s story will take us on magical adventures of princesses, princes, and creative heroes inside us all.
Rain date is Sunday, October 14. Please check franklinparkcoalition.org for updates.

Emerald Necklace Bike Tour
2018-10-20 11:30 - 13:30, 2018-10-08 11:30 - 13:30 | Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Join the Emerald Necklace Conservancy for an interpretive bike tour from the Fens to Arnold Arboretum, led by a Conservancy docent.
Meet at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. Pre-registration, with a $10 donation, is required.

Musical Fence: Reprise
2018-10-20 - 2018-10-21 | Fog x Beach, Jamaica Pond
Musical Fence: Reprise is an interactive sound sculpture consisting of 60 tuned, aluminum chimes that invite passersby to come and make music to whatever extent they choose.

Musical Fence: Reprise will be installed at the Fog x Beach location from October 20 through October 21. A concert of original music written specifically for the fence by Brooklyn-based composer Robin Buyer will take place on October 20 from 5pm-6pm. The fence is just one of several interactive sound sculptures built by Boston’s own Pickup Music Project, a cross-disciplinary team that creates public spaces for pick-up music making, similar to the way basketball courts allow for pick-up basketball.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Log(x)
2018-10-20 - 2018-10-21 | Fog x Canopy, Clemente Field, Back Bay Fens
A sculpture/sound installation by Kaitlyn Burke of Kadence Arts in response to Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog x Canopy, this series of Aeolian wind harps play in response to the fog and wind, creating music from the environment. Unearthly, ephemeral sounds fill the Fens as Nakaya’s fog sculptures unfold, changing in response to the environment.
These harps have logarithmic relationships, mirroring the mathematical relationships that govern our senses. In conversation with Nayaka’s fog sculptures and Olmsted’s landscape design, you are invited to explore the line between what is natural and what is man made.
The installation will be up for two days, and can be heard when the fog is running or the wind is blowing.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Lavender Ruins
2018-10-05 17:00 - 18:20 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
Please note: Lavender Ruins may not play if Fog x Ruins is offline. Click here to check on the status of Fog x Ruins and other fog sculptures.
An evening concert sound installation by Neil Leonard made in response to Fog x Ruins, Fujiko Nakaya’s site-specific fog sculpture for Franklin Park’s Overlook Shelter Ruins, the site where Elma Lewis invited Duke Ellington to perform annually for Playhouse in the Park.
Leonard’s composition fills the site of Nakaya’s dancing fog and lighting design by Shiro Takatani, with sound that also pays tribute to the visionary concepts of Fujiko Nakaya and the sonic imagination of Duke Ellington. The work revisits selected themes by Ellington including Lady of the Lavender Mist, The Kissing Mist, Atmosphere (Moon Mist), A Blue Fog That You Can Almost See Through (Transblucency), The Fog That Clouds It (Schwiphti). As these titles suggest, the music is atmospheric, lush and mist-like. The sound is reminiscent of Duke Ellington’s Boston-area born saxophonists, Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges, who recorded these themes with Ellington, and performed with his orchestra in the Ruins.
This 20-minute sound installation, playing at 5:00pm and 6:00pm, comprises an array of speakers located at the Overlook Shelter Ruins surrounding the fog sculpture and audience.

Presentation of this program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Eugene M. Lang Foundation and an anonymous donor.

Fog Mystics
2018-10-19 16:00 - 18:00 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
Embrace the Halloween spirit by spending an afternoon/evening with the Fog Mystics of the Emerald Necklace Parks! Created by Vibrant Visions Entertainment, a production company specializing in flow art and circus performance, the Fog Mystics are an extension of the mist and nature in Fog x Ruins, making the magic of this unique place come alive. You will catch glimpses of these ethereal creatures between bouts of fog as they dance, bend planes, and create visual art that is sure to dazzle your mind. Come immerse yourself in the wonder and beauty of Nakaya’s installation paired with hula hoops, levitating wands, and other enchanting surprises!

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Lyric
2018-10-14 15:00 - 16:30 | Fog x Hill, Hunnewell Hillside, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA, 02130, United States
Keyboard musician Ben Schwendener and opera singer Carley DeFranco are joined by dancer Shari Repasz in Lyric, a musical improvisation above Fog x Hill. Lyrics are borrowed from contemporary poetry that explores the role of the self in relation to natural surroundings and human interactions. The poems are connected through natural imagery and a contemporary sense of self within our expansive, complicated environment. Using simple yet potentially limitless designs with the Circle of Lydian Keys, Schwendener creates, modally, what he terms ‘geometric polyphony’ – harmonic melodies that accompany the texts realized in the moment by DeFranco.
Performances at 3pm and 4pm.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Tour "Fog x FLO" with Frederick Law Olmsted
2018-10-14 14:00 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
Tour Fog x FLO: Fujiko Nakaya on the Emerald Necklace with FLO (Frederick Law Olmsted) himself! Join Olmsted (local historian and actor Gerry Wright) on a guided “symphonic walk” around each of Nakaya’s fog sculptures. See below for the full schedule:

Sunday, 9/30: Fog x Hill, Arnold Arboretum
Sunday, 10/7: Fog x Canopy, Back Bay Fens
Sunday, 10/14: Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park
Sunday, 10/21: Fog x Island, Leverett Pond/Olmsted Park
Sunday, 10/28: Fog x Beach, Jamaica Pond

All tours begin at 2pm and include continual reflecting, envisioning and the bringing together of prose and poetry fitting to each part of the Emerald Necklace parks.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Hello, Muddy! Guided Tour of the Restored Muddy River
2018-10-14 11:00 - 12:30 | REI at 401 Park Drive, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02215
After decades spent underground beneath a parking lot, a portion of the Muddy River has been uncovered to see daylight once again. Hear the story of how river and parkland were reclaimed and how the vision of Frederick Law Olmsted is being restored for the 21st century. Bonus: A stop at Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog x Canopy!
Meet at REI, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215. Free and open to the public. Bring a refillable water bottle and wear comfortable walking shoes. Register below.

Gong Soundscape
2018-10-06 10:00 - 11:00 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
Playing gong, singing bowls, and bells, Nancy Aleo will create a gong soundscape responding to the shifting wind, the flowing fog, the hissing sculpture, voices, and the natural sounds of the place. Meditative and otherworldly at times, each of the five performances will be unique. Respectfully honoring Fujiko Nakaya’s visionary work, the sounds will expand and drift around the space, then fade similar to the fog moving and dissipating over the landscape.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Dadabex: Conservation, Connection and Hybridity
2018-10-13 16:00 - 16:30, 2018-10-13 14:00 - 14:30 | Fog x Ruins, Franklin Park Overlook
Dadabex: Conservation, Connection and Hybridity evolves from an ongoing collaboration with the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Zurich. Neo-dada performance art invites audiences to learn from the story of Alpine ibex, nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century.
Drawing inspiration from Nakaya’s sculptures, imagery simultaneously celebrates the natural world and conservation efforts, while communicating a cautionary tale of over-consumption. Costumed performers reverberate with folkloric and allegorical associations. Gathering energy from Dada antecedents at the Cabaret Voltaire, these events explore chanting, ritual movement, dance and audience participation. Dadabx seeeks to birth new awareness of the impacts of consumption on the natural world.

Presentation of this program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Eugene M. Lang Foundation and an anonymous donor.

Black Kaleidoscope: A Femme Journey
2018-10-13 15:55 - 16:40 | Fog x Canopy, Clemente Field, Back Bay Fens
A performance by Castle in our Skins, Black Kaleidoscope: A Femme Journey use Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog x Canopy to suggest an internal journey of transformation. Through dance, poetry and music, Castle of our Skins will showcase this journey from the lens of Black women, highlighting unique rites of passage through past, present and future.
Castle of our Skins is a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. Entering its 6th season, Castle of our Skins provides thought-provoking experiences in classrooms and concert halls alike with a central mission to foster cultural curiosity.
Schedule:

3:55 – 4:10pm: First performance
4:10 – 4:20pm: Q&A/Talkback
4:20 – 4:40pm: Second performance

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Dadabex: Conservation, Connection and Hybridity
2018-10-13 11:00 - 11:30 | Fog x Canopy, Clemente Field, Back Bay Fens

Second Saturday: Woodlands Volunteer Corps
2018-04-14 10:00 - 13:00 | Olmsted and Franklin Parks, United States

From Olmsted to Nakaya: Art & Design of the Back Bay Fens
2018-10-08 11:00 - 12:30 | Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
A guided walk through the centuries of a historic landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted with stop at artist Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog x Canopy. Hear the story of how Frederick Law Olmsted transformed an area of polluted waterways and mudflats into a scenic fens and the later 20th century revisions that resulted in the landscape we see today.
This tour is offered in collaboration with the Fenway Alliance’s Opening Our Doors.
Meet at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. Free and open to the public. Bring a refillable water bottle and wear comfortable walking shoes.

HERON
2018-10-07 16:30 - 17:30 | Fog x Island, Allerton Overlook, Olmsted Park
A sound and dance piece by performance duo Lord and June, HERON interacts with Nakaya’s large-scale fog sculptures at the Leverett Pond site in Brookline. HERON features an ambient sound composition, spatialized by key participants wearing small wireless speakers housed within sculptural vessels and following the performance as it meanders along the path. Different sections of the soundscape explore the types of tonalities that blend with the different environments: the large twisting trees moving in the wind, the stillness of the open water, and the movement of waterfowl on and above the pond.
The scene will follow the movement of a solo dancer (Sara June) who will create sculptural forms with her body reminiscent of the blue heron and other water fowl who dwell in this environment. HERON will take place an hour prior to sunset as a temporal element of the work includes the passage of the sun from just above to just below the horizon line. The final minutes of the performance will occur in near-darkness.
HERON will be cancelled in the event of heavy rain.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Music for Ground and Atmosphere
2018-10-07 16:00 - 17:45 | Fog x Hill, Hunnewell Hillside, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA, 02130, United States
For years, Ben Cosgrove has devoted his career to composing and performing music that reflects and considers landscape and place in environments all over the world. Intrigued by the variety of human responses to physical geography, he has used music both as an opportunity to explore landscapes and as a means of encouraging audiences to critically consider the shape, contour, boundaries, and meaning of the environments they inhabit.
Music for Ground and Atmosphere is a 45-minute live performance on keyboard and guitar interwoven with live improvisation and pre-composed material to respond musically to Olmsted and Nakayas’ spatial & artistic decisions. Performances will take place at 4:00pm and 5:00pm.

Presentation of this program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Eugene M. Lang Foundation and an anonymous donor.

Tour "Fog x FLO" with Frederick Law Olmsted
2018-10-07 14:00 | Fog x Canopy, Clemente Field, Back Bay Fens

Partial View
2018-10-06 12:30 | Fog x Canopy, Clemente Field, Back Bay Fens
Actors Raúl Avila, Shelby Hylton, and Raven Jalise Pace use recorded interviews as source material in Tim Ney’s Partial View. Some stories of the Fenway will be used verbatim, others will be interpreted in voice, movement and sound. Memories, like fog, can be temporal and fleeting. The piece offers spectators only partial views, not a full proscenium stage narrative.
The site-specific piece is based on the Fenway Memory Project, an oral history of the neighborhood. It was created for Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog x Canopy installation in the Back Bay Fens. Partial View is presented by [ bitsandflow ] with funding from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and the Mission Hill / Fenway Neighborhood Trust.

This program is made possible with generous support from Barbara and Amos Hostetter and Eugene M. Lang Foundation.

Fog x Kids: Family Drop-Ins
2018-09-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Fog x Hill, Hunnewell Hillside, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA, 02130, United States
Discover Fog x FLO with kids in family drop-in activities at the Arnold Arboretum’s Fog x Hill sculpture.

September 15th: Drop in for a Hydrophobic Lab to find out how fog interacts with other elements (Ages 8 and up)
October 6th: Story Time and, for extra fun, Hide & Seek in the Fog (Ages 3-8)
October 28th: Engineering in the Fog: make your own glasses to create your own personal fog (Ages 8 and up)

One adult may bring a maximum of three children. Meet on the Hunnewell Building lawn to the south of the building. Free, drop-in, no registration required. In case of inclement weather, please contact 617.384.5209.
