Jan 1-Feb 28: “The Rebirth of the Forgotten Souls of Tory Row” art installation
Sun January 25, 2026
The Rebirth of the Forgotten Souls of Tory Row & the Emergence of Echoes in Blue
Outdoor Installation on the grounds of History Cambridge, 159 Brattle Street
Open from dawn to dusk
Free
January 1- February 28, 2026
The Rebirth of the Forgotten Souls of Tory Row is an outdoor installation co-created by installation artist Gail Bos and interdisciplinary artist Pam Goncalves, presented on the historic grounds of 159 Brattle Street, the current headquarters of History Cambridge. Expanding upon their 2022 collaboration, the artists continue the essential work of honoring the enslaved African and Indigenous people whose labor shaped Tory Row—individuals long omitted from Cambridge’s written history. Through sculptural forms and gestures of remembrance, the land itself becomes a site of truth-telling and acknowledgment.
At the center of the installation stand eight bottle trees, rooted in African diasporic traditions where blue bottles act as spiritual protectors, carriers of memory, and vessels holding grief, resilience, and ancestral presence. Here, the bottle trees become quiet guardians—drawing attention to lives once suppressed and inviting visitors into a space of reflection, witnessing, and communal care.
This renewed collaboration is deeply connected to Echoes in Blue, Goncalves’s evolving series grounded in ancestral memory, the symbolic power of indigo, and the belief that blue glass wards, heals, and remembers. Extending this visual language into the open air, the bottle trees create a contemplative landscape where history is not only studied but felt.
Rooted in public humanities and memory studies, the installation intentionally expands beyond traditional exhibition spaces and boundaries by shifting remembrance outdoors—onto the soil where these forgotten lives once moved. By centering humanity over omission, Bos and Goncalves call for a more expansive, honest, and ethically engaged understanding of Cambridge’s layered past.
This installation as an act of restoration. The seven bottle trees stand as witnesses and vessels of reverence, ensuring that the souls of Tory Row are no longer hidden but carried forward with dignity, clarity, and enduring love. Through Echoes in Blue, these ancestors rise again—seen, honored, and held in the collective memory of the community.
Forgotten Souls of Tory Row was originally installed June 2022-April 2023 at 159 Brattle Street.
The Project Team included Paula Paris, Egypt Lloyd, Barbara Martin, Caitlin Hopkins, Laura Roberts, and Beth Folsom and was funded by Cambridge Arts, Mass Cultural Council, and City of Cambridge.
