Public Trust: A Public Art Project by Paul Ramirez Jonas in Boston

Paul Ramirez Jonas presents “Public Trust”, a participatory public art project in three Greater Boston locations that asks us to consider the meaning of a promise and the value of our words. Citizens of all ages will be prompted to make their promises public and consider the nature of it: the potent speech acts that keep a society together.

Participants will declare a promise that the artist records in a contract, a drawing they can keep. They will be asked to give their word in a way that is consistent with their beliefs and values, such as swearing on a sacred text. That promise is then made public. It is published on a 16’x16′ marquee board and seen in context with promises made by politicians, scientists, economists, and weather forecasters, all chosen daily from headline news. Twelve Boston artist ambassadors, trained by Ramirez Jonas, will help facilitate the process.

The project will be installed for seven days in each of the three communities, running through 21 consecutive days, from August 27th through September 17th, 2016, in Dudley Square, Kendall Square and Copley Square, in Boston, USA.