About this project
During the 1978-79 school year, Jackson Gregory and Joan Wye of the Belfast Bay Tile Works worked with children aged five to thirteen at Somerville's Powderhouse Community School to create 249 tiles that were later installed in the Davis Square T stop. These tiles, part of the Arts on the Line program that placed art in and around MBTA stations, present a unique opportunity to look back at how Somerville has changed since the opening of the Red Line extension in 1984.
Soon, the Green Line will likely be extended into Somerville. How will this change the city? What benefits will this bring? What problems will residents face? By looking back at how our city changed with the addition of the Red Line, we hope to better understand how the Green Line extension will affect Somerville.
This project will collect the personal histories of the people who created the Davis Square tiles, to be published on the web and possibly as part of an exhibit or in other formats.
Who created this project?
The Davis Square Tiles Project is a collaboration between The Action Mill and the Think Tank that is yet to be named. The Action Mill creates actions and interventions that build, organize, and empower communities. The Think Tank that is yet to be named initiates site-specific conversations, performative actions, and educational projects that interrogate contemporary urban issues in the places where we encounter them.
Directors
nick
actionmill [dot] com (Nick Jehlen) grew up in Somerville. He went to St. Joseph's School in Union Square and Somerville High with many of the students who made the Davis Square Tiles. He now lives near Davis Square. Nick is Creative Director of The Action Mill.
Katie Hargrave moved to Somerville in 2007 for graduate school; more specifically, to be close to the MBTA commuter rail so that she could travel to graduate school. After moving, she became interested in the transit needs of communities as well as the transient nature of college students and how they affect the communities in which they live. Katie is a member of the Think Tank that is yet to be named.