Activating Space
to Strengthen Communities
We believe that when communities find opportunity to come together to share their stories, their culture and their common interests, great things can happen. We hope to see you there too.
ABOUT US
Our Work
We introduce public art and curated experiences into the fabric of our communities by partnering with local community members and experts to design, produce and manage collaborative projects and programs.
Serving Cities, Towns, and People
We serve cities and towns where there are changes due to the loss of industry, shifts in population, or where there is underutilized infrastructure. We serve people, civic leaders, and business owners who want to work together to manifest the power of art, design, and urban/city planning to tie the heritage of the past to the potential of the future.
Delivering Epic Art and Designed Spaces
We utilize a design thinking and responsive approach to a community needs where the human experience is first and foremost, and a creative lens is used to find a solution.
Call for Cities — If you’re interested in applying for Beyond Walls to collaborate in your city in 2023 or 2024, please review our submission process here. We’re passionate about connecting with like-minded municipalities and community partners in Massachusetts and beyond, and we encourage collaborative coalitions and building owners to apply. For any questions regarding our RFP process, please contact us at admin@beyondwalls.org.
Stronger Communities through Art
Past Projects
Retrolit
RETROLIT Retrolit was born out of a community-driven desire for making the walk around downtown more interesting and enjoyable. Merging art, history and technology, Beyond Walls restored and installed 12 former vintage neon signs turned light-emitting pieces of artwork from the collection of Dave Waller of Brickyard VFX. These vibrant artifacts of classic commercial Americana […]
Lynn Lights on the MBTA Underpass
LYNN LIGHTS Beyond Walls, aligned partners and volunteers installed “Lynn Lights” in 2018 in response to community feedback for more lighting downtown. Together, we implemented 16,000 square feet of dynamic LED Lighting under three dark underpasses of the underlit overhead rail line that transects downtown Lynn. Our team of in kind and pro-bono partners delivered a community […]
Wash and Fold
CALL TO ACTION In response to the ongoing pandemic and in keeping with our mission — activating public spaces to strengthen communities — Beyond Walls recognized the need for flexible outdoor spaces where people can safely gather, eat, drink, and enjoy all that their communities have to offer. With pro-bono design services provided by our […]
Testimonials
I’ve enjoyed working with Beyond Walls over the last year. So very often as a city employee we are tasked with solving unique problems and challenges and it is a struggle to find resources and partners that you have confidence in that they will truly help or ‘get it’ In my experience, I have found […]
I have worked with Beyond Walls since 2016, lending design expertise and visualization to support community-led initiatives. I am most impressed by the group’s ability to execute meaningful community-enhancement projects while negotiating challenging social, regulatory, and logistical constraints. Big ideas underpin the organization, but it’s the delivery of this vision which defines the group’s success. […]
United Rentals has been the proud partner with Beyond Walls and the communities they work in since 2017. What started as a one piece equipment rental to get their mural project off and running has now evolved into so much more. United Rentals was proud to be a small part of a solution in their […]
Beyond Walls has been an incredible community partner to work with over the past year. I began working with Beyond Walls last fall (2019) when I brought my Thurgood Marshall Middle School students on a mural tour. Several of my students stated that it was their favorite memory from last school year. Then, at the […]
There are not enough words to explain the gratitude the Lynn YMCA has for transforming our playground AND giving our youth and staff the opportunity to experience art as it took place. The Beyond Walls programming with artists was amazing day for everyone, and exactly what everyone needed with remote learning an COVID fatigue hitting […]
I highly respect and am greatly excited by what Beyond Walls has accomplished in Lynn in a very short time. Utilizing many fine artists, you have brought Lynn from its nineteenth-century look and into the twenty-first century by putting its human face on old, drab buildings. You enliven the “Arts District” with a carnival atmosphere, […]
From our Newsroom
Outlook 2023: Holyoke ready to celebrate past, present and future
Published: Feb. 27, 2023, 8:02 a.m. Edwin David Sepulveda, from Puerto Rico, stands in front of a 50-foot x 85-foot wall mural he created on a building on High Street in Hoyloke, Sunday, June 19. Sepulveda is part of the Beyond Walls street art organization. (Frederick Gore Photo) By Aaron Vega | Holyoke economic development director The city […]
The Lowell Sun | The Five Minute Read
Sept. 30, 2022 –In partnership with Project LEARN, ArtUp Lowell and Beyond Walls, Middlesex Community College is home to the installation of five murals on the college’s buildings, including the mural created by artist Mattaya Fitts, on the Derby Park side of the Talbot building on Middle St. in Downtown Lowell. COURTESY MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE […]
WE CAN’T DO THIS WORK WITHOUT YOU!
WE CAN’T DO THIS WORK WITHOUT YOU! Beyond Walls had a tremendous impact in 2022 and it was all because of YOU, our incredible supporters. Thank you for being a part of this monumental year for Beyond Walls. From designed response initiatives to epic public art installations, our impact means more people across Massachusetts […]
Biotech’s next destination: Why not Lynn?
A piece of art commissioned by Beyond Walls in Lynn involves a rat made up of recycled materials. May 19, 2022. (Photo by Shira Schoenberg) UNCATEGORIZED Biotech’s next destination: Why not Lynn? Gateway City has all the ingredients – space, housing, workforce JARED NICHOLSON and JARED AUCLAIR Nov 13, 2022 AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN as an industrial hub hundreds of years […]
How Art Creates Economic Health And Prosperity In Cities And Towns
with Al Wilson of Beyond Walls “We activate spaces to strengthen communities, and that takes a wide variety of forms.” CEO of Beyond Walls, Al Wilson, talks using a creative lens to address community challenges in some of the downtown area in the Commonwealth. POSTED ON: OCT 23, 2022 HOSTED BY: NATHAN O’LEARY PRODUCED BY: GREATER BOSTON […]
The Lowell Sun | The Five Minute Read
Sept. 30, 2022 –In partnership with Project LEARN, ArtUp Lowell and Beyond Walls, Middlesex Community College is home to the installation of five murals on the college’s buildings, including the mural created by artist Mattaya Fitts, on the Derby Park side of the Talbot building on Middle St. in Downtown Lowell. COURTESY MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE […]
The Great Brick Race and Doors Open Holyoke return to the city
Updated: Sep. 28, 2022, 5:46 a.m.| Published: Sep. 28, 2022, 5:45 a.m. 05.14.2011 | HOLYOKE – Dan Overton sends his brick racer for a test run while John Degnan looks on at the 2011 Great Holyoke Brick Race. By Dennis Hohenberger | Special to The Republican HOLYOKE — The third Saturday in October will be a busy […]
THREE GUARDIANS BRIGHTEN WASHINGTON ST.
BY ANTHONY CAMMALLERI| September 18, 2022 Salem artist Anna Dugan works on her mural, The Three Guardians, on Washington Street in Lynn as part of Beyond Walls’ 2022 Street Art Tour. (Spenser Hasak) LYNN — Local art non-profit Beyond Walls, which works to utilize public spaces as canvasses for local artists, wrapped up its 2022 Street Art […]
Beyond Walls Brings Large-Scale Murals To Lynn
Photo: Brooke McCarthy / WBZ News Radio LYNN (WBZNewsRadio) – Lynn-based Beyond Walls is wrapping up their four city street-art tour at home in Lynn. “This is four artists on a really large wall blending their styles together.” Al Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of Beyond Walls said. The artists are tackling an 80 X 60 […]
Considering Construction Careers, Underrepresented Boston Teens Build Inhabitable Sculpture
A curvy public installation is the culminating project for nonprofit Digital Ready’s apprentices By Johanna Knapschaefer A group of Black and Latino Boston teenagers designed and fabricated BeND, a curvy public inhabitable installation as part of the nonprofit Digital Ready’s Architecture & Construction Pathway. Photo Courtesy of Parke MacDowell September 2, 2022 Blazing sunshine beating down […]
Thank You to our Supporters
Our work is made possible by people like you that believe that Arts and Culture in our communities leads to better outcomes for all. We thank you and all our supporters for making a lasting impact.
