Olneyville cans find a home

Lu Heintz, creator of the controversial Olneyville trash cans, just relayed this news, from Steel Yard director Drake Patten, via e-mail:

The Steel Yard announced today that artist Lu Heintz’s sculptural trash cans will be installed in Olneyville, the neighborhood for which they were initially intended. The industrial arts-focused non-profit spent many months negotiating a new location for the cans after the original clients were unwilling to accept the cans due to differences between the design concept they approved and the final product. Public input helped the Steel Yard create a short list of possible locations that were considered based on criteria including public accessibility and the potential for stewardship.

 

Drake Patten, the Steel Yard’s Executive Director said, “This has been a long and often difficult process but we are extremely grateful for the support we have received from many Olneyville residents and business owners, the city’s department of Arts, Culture and Tourism and the Olneyville Housing Corporation and as we negotiated a final location for Ms. Heintz’s cans.” She also acknowledged the hard work and many hours that her staff, board and many Steel Yard artists dedicated to this process.

 

The cans will be installed on Aleppo Street, a road that runs between Riverside Park, a reclaimed brownfield, and Riverside Townhomes affordable housing for Olneyville residents. “We feel that this location provides context to Ms. Heintz’s ‘people’s history’ as well as answers her question: ’Who will right this wrong?’ It is our strong belief that in the face of multiple social and economic inequities, citizen-supported public/private partnerships can change the future of a neighborhood. We hope that by locating the cans in a place where this model is truly exemplified, Ms. Heintz’s art will serve as a constructive critique of Olneyville’s past and present as well as a hopeful nod to its future.”