Arts & Culture
From the Straw Hat Park to the Art in Public Places around town, there is something for just about every interest!
Learn about the following community Arts & Culture initiatives currently seeking donations:
Art in Public Places
Art in Public Places was established to make art a part of the everyday experience in Medfield and launched the Art Box program late in 2013. This program uses six traffic signal boxes in town to share stories of Medfield’s history through images and text.
Other public art initiatives implemented include "Portals," an outdoor sculpture installation at the Vine Lake Cemetery in partnership with the Vine Lake Preservation Trust and assistance from the Medfield Historic Society; "My Thoughts Are Free" and an exhibition by artist Debra Olin as part of Medfield Reads the book "Outwitting History;" "Thistles" at the former Medfield State Hospital, and "Visions and Voices" which included three community projects - chalkboard kiosks, portraits on the sidewalk, and pianos in the park to inform the planning of the new Straw Hat Park in downtown.
Straw Hat Park
In 2013, a volunteer committee was appointed to address the small, non-descript pocket park in the heart of downtown. The community provided more than 150 ideas for addressing the space and design challenges were resolved by Medfield’s The Garden Continuum. Some of the highlights include addressing the draining issues, replacing a broken sidewalk, providing handicap accessibility, new seating and a fountain, adding lighting for safety, and incorporating donated granite blocks. The community also chose the name in a voting contest to reflect the 150-year history of Medfield’s most important industry of straw hat making, which was centered in the area around the park.
Follow the Straw Hat Park on Facebook.