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Boston Globe

Alison Croney Moses's ‘This Moment for Joy' is beautiful shelter

When she conceived of the sculpture last fall, 'we were not in this particular moment,' the artist said, referring to the turmoil and anxiety Donald Trump's presidency brought to her world. But after the election, a safe space for joy seemed all the more urgent. Advertisement Croney Moses,42, has been making rounded wood sculptures since her grad school days at Rhode Island School of Design. It was only when she had children – now six and eight – that she found her artistic mission. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I have done a lot of work in my art practice to process my experience of that transition' to motherhood, she said. 'The societal context in which that happens is not caring and supportive — specifically for Black women.' Alison Croney Moses shapes laminated wood for a scale model of her Triennial installation in her Allston studio. (Lane Turner/Globe Staff) Lane Turner/Globe Staff Black women are Advertisement When she sought out community with other Black women, she found healing, and with other mothers, organized gatherings for joy and play. 'We have to find our joy, we as women, to feel free regardless of what society is doing,' Croney Moses said. 'To feel free, we have to lean into our joy so that we actually have balance in our lives.' Her own bodily experience began to inform her sculptures — womblike vessels, pods referring to babies, surfaces like skin — and Croney Moses's career took flight. In 2023, she left her job as associate director of the 'I'm on a tipping point of, 'Am I rooted in Boston? Is this feasible for me to continue my art practice and continue to grow?',' she said. 'Things like the Boston Triennial, I think, make it feasible.' Then there's community. 'This Moment for Joy' is a space for gathering. 'This piece really has Black women in mind, but it's for everyone,' she said. 'I hope everyone feels welcomed and encouraged to gather there.' Alison Croney Moses's "This Moment for Joy" during the fabrication process at 4N Woodworks in Lowell. (credit?) Alison Croney Moses Croney Moses and two other Boston artists, Andy Li and Evelyn Rydz, took part in the Advertisement 'You don't really learn public art in school,' said Triennial assistant curator Jasper A. Sanchez, who runs the program. 'It's designed as an on-ramp for public art.' The group learned how to untangle the red tape surrounding public art. When they grappled with size, everything about Croney Moses's practice changed. Usually, a simple sketch is all she needs to start building a sculpture. 'Half the design work happens as I'm making it,' she said. That wouldn't wash for ginormous. She started with her familiar, pod-shaped vessel form. 'But when you translate that to a large-scale solid wood construction,' she said, 'that feels really overpowering and kind of oppressive.' To boot, she learned that enclosed spaces are verboten in public art — people might sleep in them. Alison Croney Moses in her Allston studio as she prepares for the Boston Triennial. (Lane Turner/Globe Staff) Lane Turner/Globe Staff 'I ended up jumping from this solid construction I normally work with to an open slatted construction,' Croney Moses said. 'I'm hoping that design will still have that feel of protection and safety.' After several iterations digitally and in the woodshop, the final product came together earlier this month at wood fabricator Next, she faces the 'public' part of public art. At this size, she hopes her piece is seen as a clarion invitation. 'It's like a call to the public of 'this is a moment for joy.'' Croney Moses said. 'I know there's all this other work we have to do. But we cannot forget the joy.' Advertisement