The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in conjunction with the Fort Point Channel Operations Board (FPCOB) recently awarded seven grants totaling over $54,000 to art, education, and community groups with plans for activating the Fort Point Watersheet for the 2015 season. 

Grant applicants were asked to submit project ideas that would develop creative water-based programming around the edges of the channel or construct capital improvements within the Channel. The grant program is part of the Fort Point Watersheet Activation Plan, established in 2002 by the Mayor's Office and the BRA to spearhead a vision for a “Boston Common on the water.” The Plan, which proposed new cultural activities and year round programming, resulted from a successful collaborative effort between the City, landowners, nonprofit and cultural leaders, and residents. 
 
“The City is proud of the level of involvement and caliber of talent behind this year’s initiatives and installations,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “These projects enhance the neighborhood of Fort Point​ and support our broader cultural agenda by promoting artistic expression throughout the City.”
 
Brian Golden, Director of the BRA, elaborates, “This year’s awardees bring a broad range of engaging programs, activities and installations to the Fort Point Channel. Although program executions vary, the goals and vision of participants are singular and aimed at spurring and sustaining the excitement we’re committed to bringing to the area.”
 
The Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Grant Program is funded by the Chapter 91 Waterways Regulations License for Atlantic Wharf, developed by Boston Properties.
 
2015 Winning Projects: 
 
Greenway Echelman Sculpture
Applicants: Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
Award: $10,000
The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy is commissioning a monumental aerial sculpture by internationally renowned local artist, Janet Echelman. This knotted-fiber sculpture will be suspended more than one hundred feet over the Greenway’s Fort Point Channel Parks. Visually enhanced by dynamic lighting, the sculpture will be visible day and night throughout the area. This installation will be available for viewing from May through early October 2015.
 
Shimmer
Applicant: Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss
Award: $8,000
Shimmer had previously been displayed on a small section of the Congress Street Bridge, to wide acclaim. With this re-launch, Fort Point artists Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss will expand the exhibition down the full length of the bridge. A combination of fluorescent and jewel-toned small plexiglass panels will be installed vertically between railings, refracting light to attract public viewing of the area.
 
Fort Point Channel Lunchtime Livery and Home Waters Program
Applicant: Hull Lifesaving Museum
Award: $8,000
The Hull Lifesaving Museum will operate two programs on the Fort Point Channel this summer. The first, Lunchtime Livery, running for its fourth consecutive year, will offer rowboat rentals in July and August. The second program, Home Waters, will offer an experimental rowing education program for adults and youth. 
 
FPAC’s 2015/2016 Temporary Public Art Series on the Fort Point Channel & the Harborwalk
Applicant: FPAC
Award: $8,000
The Fort Point Arts Community will produce two temporary art exhibitions this summer, one alongside the Fort Point Channel on the Harborwalk, and one on the water within the "Art Basin". Both projects will be developed and curated through juried calls to FPAC members, and will include free programming and activities for the public. 
 
Discovering Fort Point Channel (DFPC)
Applicant: “e” Inc.
Award: $4,140
"e" inc. will offer six weeks of educational programming along the Channel, five days a week, that will engage over 600 children from Boston’s community centers, summer camps, and Boys and Girls Clubs. The day-long programming will include two science lessons, a rowing experience, art activity, and an ocean art installation for the waterfront.
 
Outdoor Activities at Boston Children’s Museum
Applicant: Boston Children’s Museum 
Award: $8,000
The Boston Children's Museum will present a series of family-friendly daytime and Friday evening programs and activities throughout the summer. Programs include three movies on the museum’s plaza over the course of the summer, a farmer’s market in conjunction with Waltham Fields Community Farms, a daily self-directed play with Music and Sand, and a temporary large-scale outdoor construction with Spaceship Heart. All of the proposed projects link to educational goals of the museum. 
 
Free Theater on the Fort Point Channel
Applicant: Brown Box Theater Project
Award: $8,000
Brown Box Theatre Project will offer classic and contemporary free productions on Atlantic Wharf from summer 2015 through spring 2016. Planned productions include The Taming of the Shrew, Boxer Shorts: an evening of short plays, and two additional to-be-determined productions.