FALL RIVER — A new public art project is illuminating the hidden history and the lost landscapes of the city.
The Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition, in partnership with the Pocasset Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation, presents “Echoes of the Pocasset & the Falling River,” a multi-location cultural and recreational project that follows the forgotten route of the Quequechan River.
This initiative was chosen in 2024 as one of the 15 recipients of the Spatial Justice Grant by the New England Foundation for the Arts, according to a press release from the Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition.
Translated as “Falling River” in Wampanoag, the Quequechan “previously supported the Pocasset community, providing water, fish, transport, and ritual areas,” the press release said. “Currently, a large portion of it runs beneath the surface, concealed by centuries of industrial growth and city expansion.”
This initiative is meant to reintroduce the river “to the public’s awareness through installations, pavement ‘water’ indicators, navigational signs, and an audio-guided, self-directed walking tour,” the release said.
Explore 3.5 miles of the river’s historic path, from Crab Pond to South Watuppa Pond, guided by narrative installations/wayfinders featuring QR codes and signage, as well as illustrations by local artist Sheila Leshinsky Oliveira.
Visitors will gain “insights into the environmental, cultural, and immigrant narratives linked to the city’s growth,” the press release said.
Public art project launch and inaugural event
The project will be launched at an inaugural event on Saturday, May 17, at the Fall River Heritage State Park Thomas J. Hudner Jr. Visitors Center, 200 Davol St.
An introduction and unveiling will take place at noon, followed by guided trolley tours at 1 and 2:30 p.m. Space is limited for the guided trolley tours; registration is required at https://bit.ly/pocasset_tour.
This special new installation will be honoring the Pocasset, as well as Weetamoo, female sachem of the Pocasset. Guests will have the chance to hear her words as she might have spoken them, with Amber Valesquez of the Pocasset Tribe.
Sachem Edward Gray Fox Page, Chief of the Pocasset Tribe, will welcome guests.
There will also be the chance to meet artists involved in the project, Tribal Council members, and community partners in the project.
Echoes of the Pocasset and the Falling River was made possible with funding from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ Public Art for Spatial Justice program, with support from the Barr Foundation, the press release said.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Fall River, Freetown, Somerset, and Westport local cultural councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. It is also funded, in part, by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism.
Learn more
Wayfinders celebrating the rich history of the First People of Fall River and will be on exhibit May 10 to Aug. 17, and copies of these wayfinders will be on exhibit at Heritage State Park through the summer.
To learn more about this public art project, visit https://www.fallriverartsandculturecoalition.org/pocasset.