Framingham Centre Common Cultural District Holds Art Unveiling Events

FRAMINGHAM, MA - The Framingham Centre Common Cultural District (FCCCD) announced the details of their “Many Cultures, One Heart” public art project unveiling activities.

The first event will be a reception on Friday, June 17, when the artists who designed the 32 sculptures will be honored, along with the public art sponsors. Attendees, including members of the City Council, the FCCCD board, and others involved in the project, will all be allowed a sneak peek of the public art. The private reception will be hosted by Whole Foods Market, one of the project’s gold sponsors.

“We are thrilled to be unveiling so many sculptures that represent the artistic and ethnic diversity of Framingham,” said project coordinator Stacey David. “The artists on this project are from a multitude of races and ethnicities, and even the titles of the works are in various languages, including Portuguese, Spanish, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Russian and English. We also have artists representing the disability community, LGBTQ+, and various religions.

"We hope people see this public art as a unifying statement that, while we are all beautifully unique, we stand together as one community," she added.

The celebration continues on June 18 with the Cultural District’s “Many Cultures, One Heart” multicultural festival, when the heart sculptures will be unveiled to the public. The event will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Centre Common, allowing the community to explore all of the statues, watch a series of multicultural dance and music performances, and visit dozens of arts and crafts booths.

The festival’s performances reflect the diversity of the project. Performers include Indigenous, Bollywood, Chinese, K-Pop and Irish dancers; Spanish, Brazilian, classical Latin American, and traditional Jewish music; and even a well-known James Brown impersonator. The festival is free, and the public is encouraged to attend.

Booths at the festival will include fine art as well as jewelry and fine crafts from area artisans. In addition, a number of project sponsors will be hosting free arts and crafts projects and activities. A complete list of booths and festival performance times can be found at this link.

Gold sponsor Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers will be hosting a festival “after party” at their location at 100 Clinton St.

“The Many Cultures, One Heart Festival is jam packed with great programming, and if you're not ready for the fun to stop when the festival ends, then we invite everyone to join us back at Jack's Abby for some more food, drinks and entertainment,” said Rob Day, senior director of marketing at Jack's Abby.

After the festival, the heart sculptures will be installed in their permanent homes all around Framingham.

The festival and public art project have generated widespread financial support through grants and sponsorships. The FCCCD announced that seven organizations stepped forward with a gold sponsorship contribution, including Whole Foods Market, the MetroWest Visitors Bureau, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, Access Framingham Television, The TJX Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism.

For more information on the Framingham Centre Common Cultural District and this project, please the FCCCD website.

The mission of the Framingham Centre Common Cultural District is to create a vibrant cultural, economic, and social hub in MetroWest through collaborative programming between the art and history museums, educational institutions, cultural organizations and businesses within the district that celebrates the artistic and ethnic diversity of Framingham.