By Michael Coughlin Jr.

Last week, community members were invited to a public meeting to provide feedback on design concepts for a mural that will be placed on part of the new Brookley Flats residential development.  

According to the development’s website, Brookley Flats is a “100% affordable homeownership community” located at 10 Stonley Road. Last week’s meeting focused explicitly on another aspect of the development — a commissioned mural on the front-facing facade.

Neighborways Design, part of the mural project team, outlines the project on its website and indicates that Liz LaManche is the artist tapped for the endeavor.

Additionally, the website states that LaManche was chosen for the project based on factors such as art portfolio, experience with similar large murals, community-centric approach, and ties to the neighborhood.

LaManche, who said they had been an artist for most of their life, had a degree in architecture, and had experience in graphic design, indicated they had done public art for the last seven to ten years.

“It’s been a real treat to focus on this neighborhood in Jamaica Plain. I have good memories of being active in the circus here in past years, and I got to reconnect with some old friends in doing my research and spending time in the neighborhood,” said LaManche.

“Being able to focus on the many beautiful qualities of Jamaica Plain in this neighborhood has been really soothing for me over the last week or two.”

After the introduction to those in attendance, LaManche gave a presentation that discussed the project’s process, design concepts, and more.

From September to November, ideas and themes were taken from the community, which helped develop the concepts shown later in the presentation.

In terms of the response from the community, LaManche indicated they heard about the importance of nature.

“People here really value being near the Arboretum and all the parks and green space. They value the Minton Community Gardens, people gardening and growing things on their porches,” they said.

Another essential theme mentioned was a sense of community. “There’s a lot of mutual aid, mutual friendship, and support in Jamaica Plain in general,” said LaManche.

Following the review of community sentiment, LaManche then walked through the three design concepts for the mural, which can be viewed at https://www.neighborways.com/brookley-flats-mural-jp.

The first option depicts a person’s hand holding a paintbrush with greenery and water in the background. “This is like the artist in the community, in nature,” said LaManche. The second option is a group of flowers representative of some of the community’s different cultures. Finally, option three is similar to option two in that it includes the flowers, but they come out from the top of a trumpet at the bottom of the piece. “Music is really key in this neighborhood with the Midway Cafe and the people that are going to be living in the building,” said LaManche. As the meeting progressed, the floor was opened to feedback from attendees. There were many varying opinions on all the pieces and many conversations about how to incorporate concepts from one idea into another. For example, some folks thought it could be better to incorporate music through the image of notes. Additionally, some attendees liked the human element of the first and third options, and others wanted to figure out a way to represent the Stonybrook neighborhood more clearly. After the discussion, an informal poll was held to see which piece attendees liked the most, and the first option won. However, it should be noted that the poll results are not the determining factor in what mural ends up on the building. Regarding next steps, there are plans to hold another public meeting in January to present the final design and gather more feedback. Following that meeting, final approvals and installation will occur in the winter of 2025. If you would like to provide comments on the pieces and vote for your favorite, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8vTvHzuf063dxUKa6fFS-TN-avdbS4c_b_tIkx1ixb4g_Ow/viewform. For more information about Brookley Flats, visit https://www.stonleybrookley.com/.