The Harvard Historical Commission will hold a public hearing at its regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 2, to vote on a proposal to install three large sculptures on the grounds of Fivesparks at 7 Fairbank Street, after town counsel determined the commission has jurisdiction over the project.
The three steel sculptures were gifted to Fivesparks by the Rappaport Foundation when it deaccessioned its entire collection in Lincoln, according to Fivesparks board member Willie Wickman in an interview with the Press. They include “Low Boy,” a polished steel sculpture by Joel Perlman measuring more than 8 feet wide; “Lil,” a stainless steel work by Willard Boepple standing 10 feet tall; and “Auciello I,” a 6-foot-tall refinished steel sculpture by Peter Lipsitt.
Fivesparks first brought the proposed installation to the Select Board in September 2025. The board approved a licensing agreement in March allowing the sculptures on the town-owned property, contingent upon Fivesparks obtaining Historical Commission approval, if required. Town Administrator Dawn Dunbar told the Press on Tuesday that KP Law, the firm representing Harvard, determined that the commission does have jurisdiction over the installation. “We did find out through a legal opinion that it is within the Historical Commission’s purview,” Dunbar said.
Fivesparks submitted its initial proposal for the sculpture installation in July 2025. When representatives appeared before the Select Board at its meeting on Sept. 9, 2025, board members raised three issues: liability insurance, the potential hazard of people climbing on the sculptures, and whether Historical Commission approval was required.
Wickman and Mamie Wytrwal, another board member, said Fivesparks spent the months after the September meeting working through the Select Board’s concerns. “We worked with Spencer [Holland], who’s one of our board members,” said Wickman. “He drafted an agreement, and that’s what we presented to the Select Board in March.” Holland is an attorney who practices public and municipal law, according to his profile on the Mirick Law website.
The agreement approved by the board requires Fivesparks to maintain at least $2 million in commercial general liability insurance, with the town named as an additional insured party.
Dunbar said the order of approvals was intentional because the town owns the property Fivesparks rents. “We have to give permission for anything on the property. [Fivesparks] wouldn’t have been able to go to the Historical Commission before getting approval from the Select Board.”
Fivesparks Board President Cary Browse said in an email that the organization believes it has followed the required process, first approaching the Select Board, consulting its insurance agency, and then applying to the Harvard Historical Commission.
A gift
Wickman and Wytrwal said Fivesparks did not seek out or select the three sculptures proposed for installation. Instead, they explained the Rappaport Foundation heard about Fivesparks from someone in town and reached out via the organization’s website regarding the donation.
“We, being an arts and culture organization, felt that it would be a wonderful thing to embrace the acknowledgment of the Rappaport Foundation that we were a cultural institution that was worthy of that sort of a donation,” said Wytrwal. “We’re doing our due diligence … to explore the option of having some sculpture on the grounds of our organization, for the benefit of the community, and to extend the art that’s available for viewing beyond the building’s walls.”
Wickman and Wytrwal said Fivesparks has not yet decided whether or where the sculptures will ultimately be installed. “What we wanted to do … is work through the proper channels with the town and with the Historical Commission to see what the determination is,” said Wickman. “And once we know what the determination is, then we, as a board, will decide how we want to move forward with these sculptures.”
“We’re not courting controversy,” said Wickman. “We’re interested in sharing art and having whatever we can available to the community.”
Neighborhood pushback
The proposal has nevertheless drawn opposition from some neighbors. Jamie Allard, who lives directly next door to Fivesparks, told the Press she objects to the size, placement, and appearance of the sculptures and believes the modern steel works are inappropriate for the historic setting.
“We don’t want these sculptures that are modern art in front of an 1800s building,” Allard said. “This has sparked a petition that is going around.”
Allard is responsible for the petition that says: “We support the arts and recognize the value of artistic and cultural expression in a community. This petition is not opposed to modern art itself. Rather, it is specifically concerned with the permanent placement of three modern sculptures in a historically significant location without a demonstrated historical or cultural connection to the Town of Harvard, its residents, or the historic district. We respectfully ask Town officials to protect the historic character and integrity of Harvard’s Historic District and to deny approval for the permanent installation of the proposed sculptures at Five Sparks.”
So far, Allard has collected 20 signatures.
Whitman and Wytrwal said they were unaware of the petition.
“Fivesparks has been following a logical sequence of permissions and approvals,” said Board President Cary Browse. “We look forward to hearing the community’s input at the upcoming HHC hearing before making any decisions,” she wrote in an email to the Press.
Commission co-chair Mike Ewing encouraged residents to attend the Sept. 2 hearing at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The agenda and meeting link will be posted on the Historical Commission’s webpage at least 48 hours before the meeting, he said.
