SOS (Safety Orange Swimmers) was honored by program. Public Art Network which is the only national program that specifically recognizes the most compelling public art. More information.
April
2017
Awarded North Square Public Art Commission, Boston
Ann Hirsch and Jeremy Angier of A+J Art+Design are honored to have been selected to create a public art project in Boston’s oldest public square, North Square.Their concept was selected through a highly competitive open call for artists.
The team will work with the Boston Public Works Department (PWD), the Boston Art Commission, and the North End community to further develop their initial proposal. The public art project will be implemented in conjunction with an overall reconstruction project in North Square. The project will be installed in 2018.
January
2017
Art In Boston That Made You Think
This temporary exhibition in Boston’s Fort Point Channel called attention to today’s refugee crisis. Each figure represented nearly 1 million of the United Nations’ estimated 21.3 million refugees in the world today, as we previously reported.
The “scale of refugees to figures floating in the water is heartbreaking,” Madhumita Narayan wrote. “The realistic sculptures really made it feel like a more tangible cause, rather than just a statistic.”
November
2016
With Fort Point Exhibit, a Look at the Global Migrant Situation, BC Heights
“Onlookers at Fort Point stop to admire and make sense of the eye-catching figures. The uniform shapes are painted “safety orange” for good reason. From an artistic standpoint, it was important for the artists to choose a bright color they knew would make a big impression on observers.
On a deeper level, the color “safety orange” is a color that signifies the idea of hazards, danger and safety. Life vests and safety rafts are usually this brash, orange color which set them apart from their surroundings. The alarming orange color evokes a sense of urgency common to the journey of those seeking asylum.”
November
2016
SOS (Safety Orange Swimmers) by the Boston Globe’s David L. Ryan
“CHECKING OUT ART …
A bird takes to this artistic spot SOS Safety Orange Swimmers by Ann Hirsch and Jeremy Angier floats in the Fort Point Channel”
October
2016
What Orange People Clinging To Inner Tubes In Boston Channel Says About Refugee Crisis, WBUR
“We are very specifically concerned with the magnitude of the [international refugee] crisis and how many people are displaced. We’re talking about a global issue. But it’s important to connect back to Boston,” Hirsch tells me. “We’re a city of immigrants in a country of immigrants.”
October
2016
SOS (Safety Orange Swimmers) on CNN
Collaborating with Jeremy Angier as A+J Art+Design, SOS (Safety Orange Swimmers) was unveiled for installation from Oct. – Dec. 2016 in Fort Point Channel, Boston, MA! Check out the story on CNN.
October
2016
Artists Aim To Bring Attention To Refugee Crisis With Fort Point Floating Art -CBS
“I see people struggling to stay afloat. Maybe that’s the message that the artist is trying to send,” said Channa Wijesinghe as he observes the floating sculpture.