Design Studio for Social Intervention

Building on 20 years of blending art and activism, “20 Questions for 20 Years” invites artists, activists, academics, neighbors, youth, and fellow tricksters to explore provocative ideas, share insights, and engage in playful social interventions. 20 Questions s also a social intervention taking place across Boston and beyond—where we’re posing bold, thought-provoking questions to help us all imagine new futures in these challenging times. Have you spotted a 20 Question out in the city? Snap a photo, post it, and tag us! We’d love to hear YOUR answers and share them on our platform. A HUGE thank you and shout-out to all our partners who continue to help us disrupt the status quo! Reality Machine @otbagency @gomobegreat @illuminus @cyanta.studio @mathmatik_athletics #ds4si #20Qds4si #20Questionsds4si #spotthe20questions #BostonPublicArtTriennial

Wait! Is it Momentum Lab OR Prototype Lab? Good question! The answer is that Momentum Lab is the spring 2026 activation at the Prototype Lab. If you've been in Uphams Corner recently, you can't miss the bright orange Prototype Lab sign next to the historic Strand Theater. The Prototype Lab is a ds4si testing space dedicated to the practice of experimenting with new ways of being together in public life. It holds early-stage ideas, questions, and possibilities that aren’t fully formed and challenges participants to understand the functions of prototyping—to try out new ideas and to normalize them. The Prototype Lab exists to make experimentation visible, to lower the barrier to participation, and to support the ongoing practice of collectively designing, imagining and testing new futures. The featured image is from the @deptofpublicimagination 's activation last fall.  Interested in proposing and rehearsing new futures? Contact us @ [email protected]. Location: 545 Columbia Road Dorchester, MA #ds4si  #ds4siPrototypeLab #publiclife #ds4siMeetingTheMoment #ThisIsAPrototype

A quick recap of some of the workshops we’ve had the pleasure of hosting this semester. From puppetry to poster-making, to projections with @illuminus …. There has not been a dull moment. We look forward to keep engaging the community in different ways that speak to how we’re meeting the moment, in these current times. Momentum Lab is a space where we come together to amplify our collective courage. We have a lot more in store for you and we’d love for you to come through. Join us every Wednesday and Thursday at Momentum Lab from 6pm. Follow us for updates on what’s coming next. Slide 1 - Illuminus projection with @illuminus Slide 2&3 - Building Alternative Possibilities: Puppetry - facilitated by Carmen Powell and Katya Popova. Slide 4 - Amplifying: Poster making with @alivixi Slide 5 - IAE Reading Group facilitated by Raquel Friedman-Vargas Slide 6&7 - Social Making: Song Performance with @dorianwoodmusic Special thanks to our facilitators for partnering with us for these workshops. . . . . . #ds4si #ds4simomentumlab #ds4simeetingthemoment #ds4sidesigngym #publiclife

2016 vs 2026 - Same but different. Today, we’re reminiscing about what DS4SI was up to around this time in 2016. If you’re an OG, I’m sure you remember these moments. We’re proud to see the growth and impact that we’ve had in our community, and grateful to everyone who is a part of our family. What memory stood out for you in 2016 or 2026? Let us know 👇🏾 . . . . #2016vs2026 #ds4si #ds4simeetingthemoment #ds4sipublickitchen

What happens when we begin to move as one, in a moment when fear and division can make us feel isolated? This Thursday, May 14th, step into a space where rhythm, movement, voice, and connection come alive. In a world that often pulls us apart, this somatic workshop is an invitation to return to ourselves and to each other. If you’ve been craving connection, presence, and a moment to simply feel, you do not want to miss this. Come move with us this Thursday at Momentum Lab. Register via the link in bio. #ds4simeetingthemoment #ds4simomentumlab #ds4si #publiclife

Just a reminder that Open Gym is happening today and every Tuesday this month. Open Gym hours are your Design Team’s chance to work out an idea, project or question. Pop in and work out whatever part of the design process you might be in. Want to use a Design Gym Kit to hone your problem? Need feedback on your intervention idea? Or maybe just some paint to work on a prototype? We’re here for you! Feel free to drop in during any of our Open Gym times (4-7pm) or sign up so that Design Gym staff can be ready to support. Location - Design Gym Open hours - 4-7pm . . . . #ds4sidesigngym #ds4simeetingthemoment #ds4siopengym #ds4si

We’re looking for a Communications Lead to join our team y’all! Could it be you? If you’re a storyteller, strategist, and cultural worker who believes in the power of narrative to move people and build possibility - we want to hear from you! At the Design Studio for Social Intervention, we utilize design thinking principles, interventions, play and imagination to help rethink our current social arrangements and reimagine new worlds. We believe that another everyday life is possible and we partner with communities, artists, and social justice practitioners to demonstrate and collectively rebuild spaces to be more just and vibrant. We’re looking for someone who can help us translate that work across platforms and audiences. This isn’t just about communications. It’s about amplifying voices, holding narrative, and helping us meet this moment with clarity and courage. Apply now via the link in bio. Applications for the role close on the 10th of May. Share with your networks and thank you to everyone who’s already applied for the role. . . . . #ds4si #designgym #publiclife

This Thursday, May 7th, we invite you for Future-Making: Collective sensing, Scrying, Dreaming. Here you’ll experience a co-imagining space to hold each other, in the midst of state violence, climate crisis and general moments of uncertainty. We’ll create our own modes of prediction, inspired by ancient modes of future-telling. For the cherry on top, we’ll make a mini publication of our new methods and our co-imagining. We can’t wait to host you at Momentum Lab 🤩 . . . . #ds4si #ds4simomentumlab #designgym #publiclife #ds4simeetingthemoment

WHO BELONGS HERE? Our tour guides answer this question by observing and interrogating space at the MFABoston, investigating - ‘who gets a seat in the living room, and who gets put in the basement.’ The way we curate rooms in a house demonstrates the value we place on that room and the care we have for the objects that cultivate its space. More specifically, what art do we put in the hallways, in a bedroom, what is displayed in the kitchen, in the living room? What artifacts are relegated to the basement, or worse, a storage box? The way in which museums curate their space informs us on their values as well as what stories, ethnicities, and cultures they believe in centering. When you explore museums, ask yourself, what cultures are placed where? What impact does lighting, seating, and accessibility have on featured artworks, galleries, and exhibitions. #mfa #mfaboston #arttours #BostonArt *[correction] 33 staff members laid off (the 33% is in regards to percentage of POC) Follow to stay in tune.

Join us for the last week of Reading Group this Wednesday, April 29th. We’ve had a great time the past two Wednesday’s and we invite you for the final session. We’ll continue to imagine new ideas and arrangements together. To imagine systems that work for all citizens. To imagine new borders and how an ideal environment would make a difference. Facilitator: RAQUEL FRIEDMAN-VARGAS Register via the link in our bio.

What futures do we rehearse? Join us this Wednesday, April 29th, at the Design Gym for Civic Design 1 with @crystalbi_b   This FREE 5-week course invites a collective study of how we design new possibilities in public life. Together, we’ll examine real-world interventions, stretch how we understand problems, and use creative tools to imagine something different. Through exploring, close reading, and collectively engaging our creativity toward civic change, each participant will move toward designing their own public intervention—grounded in community, imagination, and change. Let’s build new everyday lives, together.  REGISTER VIA THE LINK IN OUR BIO. DATES: April 29 - May 27 (5 sessions) LOCATION: The Design Gym 7 Ramsey Street Dorchester, MA  #ds4si #ds4sidesigngym #ds4simeetingthemoment #publiclife

How can we listen to our bodies to channel our fears and turn them into collective courage? Join us this Thursday, April 30th, for this experiential workshop led by Zilu Wang. We will dip into a somatic toolkit, to acknowledge the wisdom we carry in our bodies. We will witness, listen, move and notice together to access our silliness and joy during this social emergency. Bring a friend with you to share this experience. . #ds4simomentumlab #ds4simeetingthemoment #ds4sidesigngym #publiclife #ds4si