January 30, 2018
Celebrating the New Year with NEXT Event
On Thursday, January 25, the Society of Arts and Crafts hosted a Sasaki-sponsored event, NEXT: A Party for the New Year, to convene some of Boston’s leading minds to imagine the future with creativity, energy and optimism. The evening featured presentations by six key influencers and disruptors from across the city of Boston who are working in the public realm, the arts, and tech innovation to create positive change in the built environment. Introduced by Sasaki principals Christine Dunn, AIA, and Martin Zogran, the speakers were:
Brendan Ryan is the founding Executive Director of HUBweek. Before HUBweek, Ryan served as Chief of Staff for Governor Deval Patrick.
Allyson Esposito is the Senior Director of the Arts & Culture Program at the Boston Foundation. She spent 10 years in strategic philanthropic roles in Chicago before coming to Boston.
Daniel T. O’Brien is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy & Urban Affairs at Northeastern. He is also the co-director of the Boston Area Research Initiative and faculty in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern. His work focuses on the ways researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can work together to level modern digital data to better understand and serve cities.
Rachel Devorah is a composer, sound artist, and instructor at the Berklee College of Music. She serves in leadership roles on the Virtual Reality committee and the Working Group for the prevention of gender-based inequality. She is also a Jefferson Fellow PhD candidate in music composition and computer technologies at the University of Virginia.
Natalia Urtuby is the Executive Director of Imagine Boston 2030 at the City of Boston. Urtuby is responsible for the implementation of the 2030 plan in partnership with all City departments and external stakeholders.
Alexandra Lee is the inaugural Executive Director of the Sasaki Foundation. She is the former Executive Director of the Kendall Square Association, and before that Lee served as the Project Director of the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the first Director of Public Programs for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and the Director of Special Projects for the Boston Society of Architects.
Ambient and interactive musical performances by Masary Studios filled the space while attendees mingled before and after the presentations. Masary Studios is well known for Sound Sculpture, an interactive, tech-driven performance featuring an axis of cubes that relay pitch and duration back to a loop. The piece was shown at Illuminus in Downtown Crossing earlier this winter.
Sasaki leaders were delighted to see their collaborators, clients, and friends gather for dialogue and merriment. The party was held at the Society of Arts and Crafts in the Seaport, a space designed and branded by Sasaki. “When we worked on this space for the Society we always envisioned this transition from daytime use to evening use. To get to experience it first-hand is just phenomenal. To fill the space with our friends around town to talk about design, development, and building in Boston makes the night for me,” said Sasaki principal Christine Dunn, a key organizer of the event.
More photos from the event below.
Brendan Ryan, Executive Director of HUBweek
Allyson Esposito, Senior Director of the Arts & Culture Program at the Boston Foundation
Assistant Professor at Northeastern, Daniel T O’Brien
Rachel Devorah, composer and instructor at Berklee College of Music
Natalia Urtubey, Executive Director of Imagine Boston 2030 at the City of Boston
Alexandra Lee, Executive Director of the Sasaki Foundation