The History of Columbia Point
Revealed Through Public Art
The Urban Scholars are a group of Boston Public High School students enrolled in U-Mass Boston’s after school college preparatory program. In Fall 2012 nine Urban Scholars in partnership with Instructor Neil Horsky and Guest Lecturer Hasan Sharif investigated the history of Columbia Point, the site of UMB’s Harbor Campus.
Students created proposals for site-specific public art installations on campus that reveal histories they found significant, and relevant to contemporary society and their personal experience. These proposals have been compiled within this booklet to serve as a self-guided arts-integrated tour of Columbia Point history.
Additionally this project is a contribution to UMB’s Arts on The Point public art program by introducing creative ideas for artworks that may inspire professional public artists and Arts on The Point curators to supplement the collection with works that address the diverse history of Columbia Point.
Lectures & Tours: I have been invited to lead guided tours and discussion of Columbia Point history using this booklet with U-Mass Boston undergraduates in a pilot program that combines the study of Boston-related Humanities content with Freshman English. I have also discussed this project in lectures with college students, faculty and staff at U-Mass Boston and The Digital Humanities Lab at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Library.
