Where to find all 16 art installations in downtown Boston this winter

Arts

This map will help you find all 16 art installations in downtown Boston, available to see through April 14.

A giant floating clown head was spotted in Boston, and it turns out it’s one of 2 and part of an art installation. Heather Alterisio/Boston.com

Downtown Boston is teeming with publicly accessible art this season, from giant clown heads to a unicorn in a glass box.

The 16 installations are part of a series called Winteractive, put together by Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, or BID, as a way to get people out during the coldest time of year that tends to keep people at home. BID worked with three Canada-based curatorial groups, and eight artists are represented across the 16 pieces.

“We haven’t given (Bostonians) enough to do, enough interaction, enough things in the public realm to make winter more appealing,” said Michael Nichols, BID president. “We want to be part of that (change).”

Day or night, you can now find Myth & Evidence by Mathieu Valade illuminating the neighborhood as part of the Downtown Boston BID’s WINTERACTIVE exhibit! Curated by @exmuroqc, the installation has a mythical grandeur 🦄 pic.twitter.com/V9iO7mJSYL

— Downtown Boston BID (@DTownBostonBID) January 14, 2024

A few of these installations have received strong reactions from the public. Take the clown heads for instance, which went up last week. A photo of the floating structure being installed went viral online, with social media users expressing bewilderment over the artwork.

Another piece had to be taken down, The Boston Globe reports, after authorities received at least one call about an installation that looked like a person sitting on the roof of a Chipotle restaurant.

The sculpture was removed by the Boston Fire Department, and BID told the Globe they hope to return it “to public view” soon.

Except for “Untitled (Fisherman),” the temporarily removed installation, BID said all other structures will be placed downtown by Wednesday and remain up through April 14, the Sunday before the Boston Marathon. That includes: