Tilt-Down Fence
The Tilt-Down Fence Opening is tomorrow at 10AM! Come join us at 496 Geneva Ave, by the Fields Corner Station on the Geneva Avenue/Vinson Street intersection! The Tilt-Down fence is installed on the bus stop island greenway and we will serve free ice cream(donated from Chill on Park), have activities for young children(with Leslie MacWeeney from Living Art), giant puppet masks (from Puppeteer’s Cooperative) and be joined by the VACA and Thang Long!
We would like to give a special shout out to Chris Harding and the Dorchester Reporter for featuring us! Please find the article below:
http://www.dotnews.com/…/public-art-fields-corner-t-station…
And finally, A special shout out + thanks to Kamran Zahedi and Kara Brickman for their donations via Indieogo! We were able to finish our Indiegogo fundraiser with 49% of our goal raised at $3,265! Thank you to everyone who participated!
Our events programming for the day include:
-Free Ice Cream from Chill on Park
-Vietnamese American Civic Association (VACA) Information Session with Q+A Resources
-Community Potluck with the Vietnamese Network at Thang Long and Vietnamese Community
-Giant Puppets from the Puppeteer’s Cooperative with Leslie MacWeeney from Living Art (11 AM)
August 29, 2016
Today we had installed the Tilt-Down Fence! We will be back on site to secure the anchoring of the installation and continue to make final touches!
August 28, 2016
We had our last final production meeting this past Friday! Preview of our colorful hand-woven benches/tables! We will begin installing in Fields Corner tomorrow, August 29! Be on the look for an installation update!
August 25, 2016
Yesterday was our MAJOR Production Day- We finished 12/15 Bamboo Ladders, altogether learned how to weave/ add in the warps for the benches, and started tackling the AMAZING tables! We had a total of 10 amazing volunteers help out yesterday for a full-on production day! We would like to thank all our volunteers from yesterday: Ivan Inhwan Tae (RISD Architecture,class of ’17), Tzu-Yu Su (RISD M arch, class of ’16). Ariana Lee (Brown University alumni class of ’15), Jennifer Vincent (Brown University alumni class of ’13), Jenyea Tiffany Chang (RISD M arch, class of ’16), Cissy Yuan (RISD Industrial Design, class of ’17), Sandra Lopez (RISD Textiles, class of ’17), textile coordinator Isabelle Camarra (RISD Textiles, class of ’17), textile lead coordinator Michelle Dunbar (RISD alumni Textiles, class of ’16), and project manager Iris Kim (RISD Architecture, class of ’17).
We will be having our LAST Production meeting tomorrow, and deliver the parts for installation on site this coming Sunday! We are now entering the installation phase of the project, and approaching our Sept 3rd. opening day!
Take a Sneak Peak at our bright and fun tables and benches!
Coming soon to the Tilt-Down Fence, are some amazing programs and events made possible by local organizations and businesses! Mark your calendars and stay tuned for updates!
Aug 21, 2016
TILT-DOWN FENCE 2016 ENTERING FINAL PRODUCTION WEEK!
We would like to give a shout out to all of our AMAZING volunteers! We are entering the last week of production of our tables, benches, and ladders! This past Friday, we met for a full work day of production with our amazing volunteers. We were able to mock-up a prototype of one set of picnic table+benches, finish a couple of ladders, and check off a few components from our weaving list! So thanks again to our volunteers: Ariana Lee (Brown University alumni class of ’15), Cissy Yuan (RISD Industrial Design, class of ’17), Lyza Baum (RISD alumni Textiles, class of ’16), Sandra Lopez (RISD Textiles, class of ’17), Siena Smith (RISD Textiles, class of ’18), textile coordinator Isabelle Camarra (RISD Textiles, class of ’17)and the textile lead coordinator Michelle Dunbar (RISD alumni Textiles, class of ’16)
We have also heard some GREAT news from VACA (Vietnamese American Civic Association) and the Immigration Advancement office! Both organizations will be hosting one or more programs at the Tilt-Down Fence during its month of installation! We will upload a flyer of programmed events soon!
Finally, our volunteer crew will meet this upcoming Wednesday again for a full on work day, so please stay tuned for another amazing production update! Again, if there are any potential volunteers out there interested in lending a hand this week/next week for production+installation, please contact Iris Kim (Tilt-Down Fence project coordinator) at ik@braceorg.wpengine.com.
back row: Anthony Piermarini (co-founder BR+A+CE), Siena Smith (RISD Textiles ’16) front row: Cissy Yuan (RISD Industrial Design ’16), Hansy Better (co-founder BR+A+CE), Sandra Lopez (RISD Textiles ’16), Iris Kim (project coordinator, RISD Architecture ’16), Ariana Lee (Brown University alumni ’15), Isabelle Camarra (RISD Textiles ’16)
August 12,2016
TILT-DOWN FENCE IN FULL PRODUCTION MODE!
Yesterday, we laid out some craft paper and spray painted our finished metal fabricated parts and had our AMAZING Textile Volunteers start on our bamboo ladders, and finally, started weaving the final benches/tables!! We would like to give a special thanks to our awesome textile part-time and full time volunteers: Lyza Baum, Siena Smith, Michelle Dunbar, and Isabelle Camarra!!!
We’ve also been getting awesome news/reach-outs from additional textile/an ID volunteer to join our team! We’re super excited and will be posting more soon!
August 10,2016
News from our Fabricator at Bob’s Welding and Fabrication! We have TWO out of the now metal FIVE table/bench frames ready to be spray painted!! We are going to get the weaving of the table tops and benches started this week!!
We are reaching out to community organizations and local businesses to schedule events and activities to be held on site once the Tilt-Down Fence is installed and open to the public! If you know of any business or organization that may be interested in sponsoring an event email ik@braceorg.wpengine.com .
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP US WITH INSTALLATION AND SITEWORK THE WEEK OF AUG 29-SEPT.2. PLEASE EMAIL ik@braceorg.wpengine.com IF INTERESTED! TEXTILE VOLUNTEERS FOR NEXT WEEK AUG 15-AUG 19 FOR WEAVING ARE ALSO NEEDED!
Now our shout out to those who donated through our indiegogo fundraiser!
We would like to thank Gretchen Schneider and Luz Karim Better for their donations to Tilt-Down Fence!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tilt-down-fence-coming-to-dorchester-in-sept-2016-community/x/893391#/
August 9th, 2016
BR+A+CE has exciting news, we are scheduling events for the Tilt-Down Fence! We talked to Sara Peattie of The Puppeteers Cooperative who offered to lend us some giant puppets!! Check out their amazing costumes! They vary from simple animal puppets to exciting giant puppets! We are now in need of some volunteers- actresses, actors, puppeteers who would be willing and interested or know someone who would be interested in putting together an event for one of the weekends our installation will be up! We are hoping to schedule special events on every Saturday morning of September. We are open to negotiations for scheduling and would love to get volunteers to be a part of Dorchester’s exciting new event series!
BR+A+CE is also looking for a local Dorchester business for a sponsorship of $500. We would make sure to give credit for their donation on our website, flyer, and facebook! Check out our tentative schedule of events on our flyer- the events are still in process of being confirmed and planned. Donors of $500 or more will be noted on our flyer as follows:
Please don’t forget to check out our indiegogo fundraiser if you haven’t already so! We are officially in final production mode and can use all the help we can get for donations, and sponsorships!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tilt-down-fence-coming-to-dorchester-in-sept-2016-community/x/893391#/
We would like to thank our Trevor Knebel for donating yesterday via Indiegogo! Any amount counts!
August 8,2016
We met with Michelle and Isabelle today to go over weaving prototypes, colors, and bamboo connections so that we may now go into final installation production!! We had various different tests using Rexlace, rope, weed racker cord, and various other types of vinyl-cord. We started testing connections between bamboo parts to configure how the ladder will come together and have officially reached 22% of our Indiegogo fundraising goal!
Anthony (co-founder of BR+A+CE), Michelle, and Isabelle with some amazing weaving prototypes!
Weaving Trials and Prototypes before we decide on final woven designs and start ordering material for the REAL, final Tilt-Down Fence benches/tables!
Testing out some bamboo ladder connections!
We would like to thank all of our supporters and donors for participating through our indiegogo fundraiser: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tilt-down-fence-coming-to-dorchester-in-sept-2016-community/x/893391#/backers We have now raised 22% of our goal of $6,660! Please look at our donations page for the full list of supporters.
Now BR+A+CE is on AmazonSmile!!
What Does That Mean?
Now, all Amazon users can support BR+A+CE every time you shop, at no cost. It’s the same prices and selections as Amazon, but Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your selected charitable organization! All you have to do is shop at smile.amazon.com and select Brace-Building Research & Architecture & Community Exchange to support BR+A+CE through your everyday purchases!
Share this awesome news! 
UPDATE 2016: TILT-DOWN FENCE COMING SOON!!!
Tilt-Down Fence, a public art installation project that serves the local immigrant population currently residing in Dorchester is under process!
Tilt-Down Fence is a temporary urban stage, a place and space for the local community and more. The installation is a series of 7 ladder bench+table systems in Fields Corner, Dorchester, MA that will be up for one month! The fence is a metaphor and has purpose. It’s a climbing structure [metaphor: the economic ladder] and a framework for adults to gather, support and network towards upward mobility. Being sited near the MBTA public bus stop, Tilt-Down Fence will also serve the community at large, the VietAID Au Co pre-schoolers, parents and the elderly population.
In the past few weeks, BR+A+CE has been recruiting textile artists , fabricators, and scheduling the entire process for our D-DAY deadline of Saturday, Sept. 3rd. We received approval from the MBTA, found a metal fabricator, had our first meeting with two textile artists who are on board full time, and are preparing everything we need to make the Tilt-Down Fence real! We are now purchasing and have ordered needed materials to fabricate and prototype before we go into full production, fabrication, and installation!!
The project is conceived, fabricated and fund-raised by BR+A+CE. We rely on crowd funding to help us make the project a reality. Please help us make the Tilt-Down Fence real by making sure to visit our Donation page (link below) and “Like” our Facebook page to receive project updates.
- We have received donations from: The Boston Foundation (Vision Fund Grant), The Awesome Foundation, The Boston Society of Architects Foundation, and Viet-AID to initiate the project, but we are still fundraising and need your support! We are raising funds of $6,660 to fulfill the gap.
- Make sure to check out our unique Perks on Indiegogo we have for your contributions!
- As a non-profit organization, we rely on crowd sourcing and can use all the help we can get! Help us make a difference!
The Impact
- Your contribution turns an underused green space into an active public art space for residents. Tilt-Down Fence is BR+A+CE‘s fourth public art project, following the successes of the Mobile Farm Stand and The Big Hammock Project at Rose Kennedy Greenway and at Adam’s Park in Roslindale, MA.
- The Tilt-Down Fence serves the community at large, the Viet-AID pre-schoolers, parents and the elderly population. BR+A+CE is currently consulting with the city to bring resources and services to advance and support the city’s immigrant residents.
- Your support will create new conversations about immigration communities, cultural exchange, and their contributions. The opening is tentatively on Saturday, Sept 3rd. We are planning events, activities, and more at the Tilt-Down Fence, so come be a part of the exciting event!
Other Ways You Can Help
We know some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help us!
- Spread the word! Tell your friends, families, and colleagues about our project and fundraising!
- To volunteer or propose ideas for an event please email us at ik@braceorg.wpengine.com
- We would like to give this project a second life, please email us at ik@braceorg.wpengine.com to bring Tilt Down Fence to your school or neighborhood park.
- Follow us on Facebook for updates: https://www.facebook.com/BRACEboston/
- Come visit us on Sept. 3rd at Fields Corner at our opening!
LET’S GET IT GOING!
All donations to BR+A+CE are tax-deductible. Please contact us directly at info@braceorg.wpengine.com if you require formal acknowledgement of a donation for tax purposes.
THE VOLUNTEER TEAM…
…is comprised of designers, fabricators, students, and faculty brought together by BR+A+CE‘s Officers and Board of Trustees. The Tilt-Down Fence has been led by Iris Kim, Connie Wang, Petre Jariyanandhanetr and BR+A+CE co-founders Anthony Piemarini and Hansy Better Barraza. Together with Textile Collaborators Michelle Dunbar, and Isabelle Camarra, Structural Engineer Brett Schneider and enthusiastic volunteers, the hope is to create an interactive symbol of community. We have been fortunate to be aided by Viet-AID, who promotes civic engagement and community building, provides small business technical assistance and micro-enterprise development.
Our board of trustees and advisers includes John Di Salvo, Kathryn Madden, Brett Schneider, Gretchen Schneider, Kamran Zahedi, Griscel Diaz, Lynn Hsu, Andrew Wise, and Antonia-Better Wirz.
Many hands have helped us get to where we are; please visit the following tabs for a complete list of volunteers and sponsors.
COMING SOON! (2015)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the national immigrant population in 2009 was comprised of 38.5 million people, or roughly 12.5% of the total population. In a country literally built on the hard labor and ingenuity of immigrants from all over the world, these individuals are part of a rich American legacy, yet they and their contributions often remain invisible outside their immediate communities.
We are currently working to identify and connect community members, ideas, and locations with our team of design and engineering experts. With the help of a community partner, BR+A+CE seeks to design a built intervention for the benefit of a local immigrant community. We hope this proposal will not only initiate a critical dialog about design for immigrant populations, but also celebrate the innumerable contributions of immigrants to the U.S. as a whole.
This summer, we are working in partnership with the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development in Fields Corner, Dorchester. The installation of frames can be conceived as a fence that activates the space to bring the Vietnamese immigrant community of Viet-AID to the rest of the community, while creating conversation about the diversity and cultural impact of the different immigration groups at large.
Please follow our blog and visit our Facebook page to stay up to date with our progress or contribute!
HAPPY SUMMER 2015!
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