The first Boston Public Art Triennial features a commissioned work by Professor Beatriz Cortez. The Triennial presents 15 commissioned works by 15 artists selected and curated by Pedro Alonzo and Tess Lukey.

Professor Cortez’s contribution to the Triennial is Nomad 2 and was inspired by a trip to the Arctic Circle, where Cortez encountered a massive boneyard of whale skeletons. The whaling industry, once so essential to Boston’s history and economy, helped illuminate cities, lubricate machinery, and shape high fashion. Cortez’s steel shaped vessel reminds viewers of a whale vertebra as well as a spaceship and space time capsule. Her sculpture speaks to the entangled narratives of survival, modernity, industrialization, and global warming.

The theme of the 2025 Triennial is The Exchange and showcases cross-disciplinary public art projects that break down social and professional barriers to promote collaboration and strengthen community resilience. Cortez’s sculpture perfectly exemplifies these goals. Nomad 2 was made after the artist’s home in Los Angeles burned during the Eaton Fire and was built with the support of many friends, supporters, collaborators, institutions and community in Los Angeles and Davis. A large portion of the surfaces of Nomad 2 were prepared by her UC Davis studio team; the remaining surface components were prepared by Cortez’s family and friends in Los Angeles. The entire welding process took place in her Los Angeles studio. 

Nomad 2’s panels were also produced in a number of locations and with the support of many collaborators. The sculpture’s control panels were imagined by Cortez but were designed in collaboration with Ryan T. Jenkins, then a senior video engineer at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic but now a Production Technologist at Harvard University. The panel that evokes an abacus was designed in Cortez’s Los Angeles studio while the panel reminiscent of the knots of a kipu and the knots made by Boston-area sailors was manufactured in Boston. Another section was made with repurposed old equipment from the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at UC Davis. This section was made possible through collaboration with and support of Dr. Eric Prebys, director of the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, who allowed Cortez to incorporate original panels from his lab into her sculpture. 

The Triennial will be on view from May 22 to October 31 in Boston. This map shows the location of each public sculpture.