The Y Project

Tax-deductible Dona­tions

The aim of “The Y Project” is to pro­mote a greater under­stand­ing of social issues through tem­po­rary sculp­tures placed in pub­lic space in the form of the let­ter Y to cul­ti­vate pos­i­tive change over time. The project asks us to reflect on the state­ment, “Why do we live so com­fort­ably with an imbal­ance of human equal­ity and irre­spon­si­bil­ity?”.

“The Y Project”, which expresses a belief and serves as a reminder that change is pos­si­ble, and we can reach com­mon goals, and that the spirit of good­will among peo­ple of all nations can pre­vail if we ask our­selves what role we play in the pre­sented sit­u­a­tions and work towards change. The project’s power is in its sim­plic­ity and abil­ity to plant a seed to ben­e­fit a cross-sec­tion of a com­mu­nity at large.

Pub­lic art has the inher­ent power to reach a wide audi­ence, and because the instal­la­tion will be in com­mu­nity space, the imagery and the mes­sages it car­ries will be embed­ded in the every­day fab­ric of life of those who walk by. In this sense, the project is a true dia­log between art and ordi­nary peo­ple not just those who reg­u­larly seek out cul­tural exhibits, but also those who are sim­ply walk­ing their dogs, com­mut­ing or going about daily activ­i­ties.

The Y Project was first installed in New York City in 1998 on Sixth Avenue and Christo­pher Street with Y Dis­crim­i­nate. The project has been installed in Prov­i­dence, Rhode Island; and in the Mass­a­chu­setts towns of Cam­bridge, Province­town, and Whitinsville; and at the Uni­ver­sity of Con­necti­cut.

It is my ulti­mate goal to pro­duce and address thirty Y ques­tions and to then poto­graph the col­or­ful sculp­tures in the con­trast­ing salt flats of Utah.

“The Y Project” has been sup­ported by pri­vate dona­tions and by: the Puf­fin Foun­da­tion; J. & A. Ades Foun­da­tion; John L. Stew­art Col­lec­tion; Broad Insti­tute of MIT & Har­vard; Cam­bridge Arts Coun­cil; Mass­a­chu­setts Cul­tural Coun­cil; Com­mu­nity Art Cen­ter of Cam­bridge; May­ors office of the City of Cam­bridge Mass­a­chu­setts; Junior League of Philadel­phia; Action­AIDS; William Way LGBT Com­mu­nity Cen­ter; Province­town Art Asso­ci­a­tion and Museum; Province­town Office of Tourism; Bank of Amer­ica; Amer­i­can Express; Alter­na­tives Lim­ited Inc; Cam­bridge Cares About AIDS; Hewlett Packard; Cul­tural Coun­cil of the City of Prov­i­dence, RI; New York City DOT; Balducci’s of New York; The Suc­cess Group; Brook­lyn Brew­ery.

A fis­cally spon­sored project of New York Foun­da­tion for the Arts.