Expert Pairings
In 2024, the Public Arts & Culture Committee issued an open call to artists and scientists to explore the ecology of Watertown and collaborate on temporary public artwork. Artists and scientists submitted qualifications individually or as a pair and were selected so that each Expert Pairing project featured one artist and one scientist as lead collaborators. Together, these interdisciplinary teams created educational, temporary, outdoor installations in Watertown, MA focused on edible plants, local ecology, or other topics of environmental resiliency that may be found in the Resilient Watertown Climate and Energy Plan. Expert Pairings was supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
Meet the Experts:
- Sophy Tuttle (Artist) & Amber Siegel with the Charles River Watershed Association (Scientist)
- Jenn Houle (Artist) & Patrick Fairbairn (Scientist)
- Ira Klein (Artist) & Yi Jenny Wang with Stanton Nash and Quinn Henthorne (Scientist)
- Leah Craig (Artist) & Nicole Weber (Scientist) with Romi Kattleson (Artist) & Amy Mertl (Scientist)
In the News:
- Expert Pairings mentioned in NEFA's CreativeGround blog, November 3, 2025 (external link)
- Teams of Artists and Scientists Unveil Public Art Projects, press release July 8, 2025 (external link)
- Remixing the Forest at Arsenal Yards, October 18, 2025 (external link)
- Opening Reception for Tangled Connections, July 13, 2025 (external link)
- Announcement of Artists and Scientists, press release November 5, 2024 (PDF)
- Announcement of Projects Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (PDF)
- Artists and Scientists Wanted to be Part of Edible Watertown Project, July 15, 2024 (external link)
- Read the full call (PDF) and Watch the Information Session on YouTube
In November 2025, the three completed Expert Pairings projects (Remixing the Forest, Tangled Connections, and Faces of the Forest) displayed artifacts and supplementary objects from their temporary outdoor public artworks in an exhibition at the Watertown Free Public Library. Images from the exhibition are below.