January 15, 2026 – BOSTON, MA
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the nonprofit responsible for the management and care of The Greenway, in partnership with Embrace and Everyone250, is excited to announce the selection of seven finalists (5 individual artists and 1 collaborative team of 2 artists) for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural following the Conservancy’s first-ever national open call for this site. The selected artists are: Brooke Stewart and Daniela Rivera (team), Destiny Palmer, Ekua Holmes, Escif, Jasmine Chen, and Rixy.
Chosen by a distinguished panel of Boston artists, cultural leaders, and community members, these seven finalists represent a diverse range of approaches to art-making, with practices spanning muralism, abstract and figurative painting, illustration, collage-based work, printmaking, and sculpture that engage with concepts of history, belonging, materiality, and public space. Each finalist and finalist team will receive a $5,000 honorarium to develop a full mural proposal. One artist or artist team will be selected to realize the 2026 mural and will be awarded a $25,000 artist fee and a $50,000 production budget.
“This is an extraordinary and deeply thoughtful group of artists whose practices reflect the many ways people experience, remember, and shape the city,” said Dr. Audrey N. Lopez, Director and Curator of Public Art at the Greenway Conservancy. “As Boston prepares for a transformational year in 2026—with monumental gatherings and increased international attention—this mural will stand at the heart of downtown as both a welcome and a provocation. New and varied perspectives on our shared history and possible futures feel more important now than ever, and this open call has surfaced artists uniquely positioned to lead that conversation.”
As Boston looks ahead to a year defined by both celebration and reflection, the Dewey Square Mural remains a powerful platform for public dialogue. That role takes on even greater meaning as the city approaches the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
“The 250th anniversary is a milestone, but it’s also an invitation to reckon, remember, and reimagine,” said Imari Paris Jeffries, Ph.D., President and CEO of Embrace. “Through the Dewey Square Mural, these artists are helping Boston engage history as something living and unfinished, while modeling what it looks like to build belonging in public, together.”
All finalists will present their proposals to the Dewey Square Artist Selection Committee, who convene during the last week of January to select one artist or artist team to commission for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural. The commissioned artist will be announced on February 10, 2026. All four runners-up will also have their proposals and other work shown on 2-D panels installed at Dewey Square Plaza from June 2026 to December 2026.
2026 Dewey Square Mural Finalists (listed alphabetically by first name)
Brooke Stewart (collaborative team with Daniela Rivera)
Boston-based interdisciplinary artist Brooke Stewart explores the intersection of art and sport through large-scale printmaking, painting, and installation. A lifelong athlete, she treats courts and playing surfaces as sacred public spaces, shaping memory and belonging. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at MFA Boston and Tokyo University of the Arts.
Daniela Rivera (collaborative team with Brooke Stewart)
Daniela Rivera is an artist and Professor at Wellesley College whose work examines displacement, identity, and belonging through immersive, materially rich environments. With a background spanning Chile and the U.S., Rivera’s practice centers storytelling, public engagement, and collaboration, using murals as social processes that invite dialogue between community, history, and place.
Destiny Palmer
Destiny Palmer is a Boston-based artist, educator, and muralist whose work explores color as memory, inheritance, and cultural language. Inspired by women in her family and the unfinished quilt of her grandmother, Palmer’s practice bridges science, history, and community storytelling, centering the unseen labor that holds cities together.
Ekua Holmes
Ekua Holmes is a Roxbury native, MassArt graduate, and celebrated mixed-media artist whose work centers children, family, and community life. Drawing from personal history and local landscapes, she builds richly textured narratives from found objects and ephemera, creating work that honors everyday beauty, resilience, and the power of self-determination.
Escif
Escif is a Valencia-based street artist active since the late 1990s whose minimalist murals usesharp lines and restrained color to question capitalism, environmental crisis, and urban life. His work has appeared at major museums and biennials worldwide, including Palais de Tokyo, Shanghai’s Power Station of Art, and Banksy’s Dismaland.
Jasmine Chen
Jasmine Chen is a Boston-based visual artist originally from Beijing whose work investigates memory, migration, and mixed ancestry. Her art is in the permanent collection of the Danforth Art Museum and has been exhibited throughout New England. She holds degrees from Harvard and Brandeis and has completed residencies across New England.
Rixy
Rixy is a Boston-based street artist whose work blends surrealism, intersectional feminism, and Latinx-Caribbean identity. Their murals celebrate Black and brown youth, queer communities, and diasporic storytelling through bold color and found materials. Recent commissions include the City of Boston and the Boston Triennial Public Art Accelerator.
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A Special Thank You to Our Supporters
The 2026 Dewey Square Mural is supported in part by Massachusetts250, the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, Meet Boston, and Holland America.
Public Art on The Greenway is made possible with major support from the Barr Foundation, Goulston & Storrs, the Greenway Business Improvement District, Meet Boston, the Wagner Foundation, the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Robert and Doris Gordon, and the New Commonwealth Fund. Additional support is provided by the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
Embrace and Everyone250’s collaboration for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural is made possible through major support from the Barr Foundation, Nellie Mae, the Massachusetts Offi ce of Travel and Tourism, and the City of Boston.
Project support for the Dewey Square Mural is generously provided by Meet Boston and The Lynch Foundation.
Special thanks to our design collaborator, Chen Luo.
