Coming Soon: The Midnight Ride will be on view starting June 2026 at Dewey Square Park on The Greenway.
June 2026 – Summer 2027
In partnership with Embrace and Everyone250, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy is thrilled to announce the commissioning of artist Rixy for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural following the Conservancy’s first-ever national open call for this site.
Launched in November 2025, the Open Call invited artists to apply for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural commission for thematic interpretations in dialogue with the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Artists were asked to reflect on the past, present, and future of Boston via expansive and inclusive storytelling that engages with themes of belonging, democracy, and the spirit of revolution in the city and and beyond.
Chosen unanimously by a panel of esteemed Boston artists, cultural leaders, and community members, Rixy’s proposal, entitled “The Midnight Ride,” responded to the call’s invitation with a fresh, inspirational and futuristic approach. Drawing upon elements of fantasy, creative worldbuilding, and a vibrant palette, Rixy’s proposal brings into dialogue parallel histories referenced in the title: the historic midnight ride undertaken by Paul Revere in 1776 and the lesser known, legendary midnight ride of a young woman named Sybil Ludington, who in 1777, is said to have ridden 44 miles through the night on horseback to alert U.S. troops of an impending attack from the British.
“It is an exciting honor to present a mural with The Rose Kennedy Greenway that shines light on the beauty of resiliency,” said Rixy, commissioned artist for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural. “I hope the work will remind and inspire viewers to see themselves as larger than life, and our interconnectedness as revolutionary, spiritual, and beautiful.”
Rixy’s commission arrives at a time when many artists across the country are responding to the nation’s 250th anniversary, oftentimes through reimagining historical figures and moments positioned as key to the founding of democracy.
From Amy Sherald’s painting Trans Forming Liberty, 2024, a work central to the artist’s solo exhibition American Sublime, originally organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (now on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art), to Los Angeles-based artist Ektor Rivera’s recent reimagining of German-American artist Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851), contemporary artists are engaging with historical moments, symbols, and figures to expand these narratives in ways that offer and encourage new points of access, imagination, and critical reflection.
Rixy, who works primarily with aerosol-based paints for her large-scale murals, will be on-site painting the 70’ x 76’ Dewey Square mural wall by hand with an all-women painting team throughout the month of May 2026.
Previous Work
About the Artist
Rixy
Rixy’s practice in contemporary street art celebrates the surrealism found within intersectional feminism and cultural belonging. Building on Latinx-Caribbean and New England roots, their world-building creates vibrant, bold, and radically imaginative third spaces between public and private walls, depicted through stylized paintings, sculptures, murals, and installations. The storytelling processes of these works typically include spray paint, found and/or natural objects, and illustrative embellishments commonly used by underground voices along the diaspora. Often, Fernandez’ murals highlight the beauty of black and brown youth, women, queer, and underrepresented voices.
Recent commissions include the City of Boston, the Boston Triennial’s Public Art Accelerator, and Wassaic Project, as well as exhibiting at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Sculptor’s Gallery, MECA Art Fair in the Dominican Republic, and many others. I’ve received a 2023 NEFA Newell Flather Award for Emerging Leadership in Public Art and a Hip Hop x Street Art Ambassadorship with the UAE Embassy in Dubai.
About the 2026 Open Call
In partnership with Embrace and Everyone250, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy held a landmark Open Call for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural.
In Phase I, the Artist Selection Committee selected six finalists to develop and submit full mural proposals. During Phase II, the Committee evaluated each finalists’ mural proposal and selected Rixy as the commissioned artist for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural. The 2026 Dewey Square Artist Selection Committee included a range of regional arts and culture leaders, artists, and community members, including Jha D Amazi, Ché Anderson, Tessa Bachi Haas, L’Merchie Frazier, Jameson Johnson, Kenny Mascary, Jeneé Osterheldt, Jasper A. Sanchez, Lisa Tung, and Zhidong Zhang.
Additionally, the RFQ runner-up finalists will be invited to display their mural proposals and additional artwork on large-scale stanchions at Dewey Square Plaza from June 2026 – December 2026, creating further opportunities for public engagement.
Unveiled in the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the 2026 mural will serve as a catalyst for conversations about how Boston’s past, present, and future intersect on its streets and in its shared spaces. Learn more here: https://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/2026-dewey-square-mural
A Special Thank You to Our Supporters
The 2026 Dewey Square Mural is supported in part by Massachusetts250, the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, Meet Boston, and Holland America.
Project support for the Dewey Square Mural is generously provided by Meet Boston and The Lynch Foundation.
Public Art on The Greenway is made possible with major support from the Barr Foundation, Goulston & Storrs, the Greenway Business Improvement District, Meet Boston, the Wagner Foundation, the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Robert and Doris Gordon, and the New Commonwealth Fund.
Additional support is provided by the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
Embrace and Everyone250’s collaboration for the 2026 Dewey Square Mural is made possible through major support from the Barr Foundation, Nellie Mae, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and the City of Boston.
Special thanks to our Artist Selection Panelists: Jha D Amazi, Ché Anderson, Tessa Bachi Haas, L’Merchie Frazier, Jameson Johnson, Kenny Mascary, Jeneé Osterheldt, Jasper A. Sanchez, Lisa Tung, and Zhidong Zhang.
Additional thanks to our design collaborator, Chen Luo.
About The Greenway and the Greenway Conservancy
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston and one of the most visited attractions in the Commonwealth, welcoming millions of visitors annually. The Greenway is managed by the Greenway Conservancy, a non-profit responsible for the administration and care of the park. The majority of the Conservancy’s annual budget is made up of generous donations from the community, and it is with their support that the Conservancy cultivates a gathering space where all are welcome and celebrated.
The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program brings innovative and contemporary art to Boston through free, seasonal exhibitions that engage people in meaningful experiences, interactions, and dialogue with art, each other, and the most pressing issues of our time. Past Greenway exhibitions can be viewed on the Public Art Instagram (@greenwaypublicart) or the Conservancy’s website.
About Embrace
Working at the intersection of arts, culture, community and research to dismantle structural racism, Embrace sees a radically inclusive and equitable Boston where everyone belongs and Black people prosper, grounded in joy, love and wellbeing. Embrace aims to connect, educate, and energize within our communities and across traditional borders to cultivate the conditions necessary for racial and economic justice in Boston.
About Everyone250
Everyone250 is a living platform for reimagining Boston’s history. Rooted in storytelling, cultural activation, and civic engagement, it honors voices too often left out while inviting new ones in. As Boston approaches the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, Everyone250 offers a space to reflect, rewrite, and help build a more honest and inclusive future — one story at a time.