Public Arts & Culture

Public Arts & Culture planning in Watertown is broad in scope and encompasses art in public places, cultural and community life, and creative placemaking in many forms. On this webpage you will find local resources for artists and organizations across disciplines, as well as for arts and culture supporters. Please see the left menu for a full list of resources and additional information.

Three governing bodies:

• Public Arts & Culture Committee
  
  The Public Arts & Culture Planner works with the Public Arts & Culture Committee (PACC) to implement the Public Arts Master Plan (PDF), adopted through a resolution in 2020. City Council's Resolution to Establish a Public Arts and Culture Committee (PDF) signed April 13, 2021. The Public Arts & Culture Committee develops public art opportunities and municipal arts policy. The Public Arts & Culture Committee meets every 4th Monday of the month at 6 PM virtually or in the 3rd Floor Conference Room in the Watertown Administration Building. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the Public Arts & Culture Committee meetings, please see the Visitor Guidelines (PDF). The Public Arts & Culture Committee uses the PACC Handbook (PDF) to guide governance and project procedures.
  
  
• Watertown Cultural Council
  
  The Watertown Cultural Council (WCC) is one of 355 Local Cultural Council programs statewide. The LCC program is one of the largest grassroots cultural funding networks in the nation annually supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences funded in large part through the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Watertown individuals, schools, and cultural organizations are eligible to apply for project support from WCC. Since its establishment in 1982, the WCC has distributed over $200,000 and funded over 500 programs that have enriched the lives of tens of thousands of community residents.
  
  
• Watertown Cultural District
  
  The Watertown Cultural District was designated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in November 2024. The district in managed through a public-private partnership and is subject to all Federal, State, and local regulations for public bodies. The partnership meets the 2nd Monday of every month at 4pm. All cultural entities living or working in Watertown are invited to join the Cultural District Partnership and learn about the two-year planning process. Please review the Partnership Handbook (PDF) and complete the Partnership Agreement (PDF) to become a partner.

Latest Public Arts Initiatives:

• Open for Business - Call for artists and artist teams open through October 26, 2025!

Up to two artists or artist teams will be selected to create 2-year installations in Coolidge Square to drive foot traffic during the Mount Auburn Street Reconstruction. Read the full Call for Art.

• Edible Watertown - Artists and Scientists: Expert Pairings projects coming this Summer and Fall!

Edible Watertown is a long-term interdisciplinary project that promotes awareness of our local environment through community engagement and the artistic and scientific exploration of plants around Watertown. Expert Pairings invites artists and scientists to explore the ecology of Watertown and collaborate on temporary public artwork. The four interdisciplinary teams will create 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.

• Community Sculpture Walk - New sculptures installed in May 2025!

The Community Sculpture Walk exhibits public sculptures in Watertown, to enhance the use of green space, encourage public interaction with contemporary art, and create an annual exhibition opportunity for artists at all stages of career working in a variety of mediums. The Community Sculpture Walk follows the Community Path, from the library parking lot at Saltonstall Park to the Howard Street extension. Sculptures will be selected annually through an open call to artists and on view for two years.

• 100 Years of Arshile Gorky - Exhibition forthcoming at the Armenian Museum of America!

The Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee (PACC) is collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to commission a mural along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway that commemorates the life and work of Arshile Gorky, who, notably, forged the birth of Abstract Expressionism in the United States. The mural is an extension of a larger project by a Watertown working group to memorialize Gorky’s time in Watertown, MA, and his contribution to modern art, led jointly by resident Jack Dargon and the Public Arts and Culture Committee with support from the Armenian Museum of Watertown, the Mosesian Center for the Arts, and the Historical Society of Watertown. Funded by the Watertown Community Foundation, Mount Auburn Cemetery, and Plumbers Supply Co. Read the press release.

Public Arts & Culture Bulletin:

The Public Arts & Culture Committee puts out a periodic email newsletter called the "PACC Arts Bulletin" that contains upcoming exhibits, events, calls for art, and grant deadlines. Subscribe and learn more.