Exhibit would feature 20 artworks on the Upper Falls Greenway starting in June.

The free outdoor sculpture walk along the Upper Falls Greenway in the N2 Innovation District will return this summer, providing organizers can raise the needed funds.

Curated again by Studios Without Walls, this year’s exhibit called Reverberations, will launch with an event on June 13 and feature up to 20 sculptures and conceptual art located along the one-mile rail trail, which runs parallel to Needham Street in Newton.

Along with the plans, the group is conducting a fundraising campaign to ensure that the artists are paid fairly for their work.

“The show is planned to run from June 13 through Sept. 12, but that depends on our fundraising,” said N2 District Director Chuck Tanowitz. “We aim to raise $14,000 in donations and sponsorships so we can support the artists, performers, and employees who will work to make this a great event.

Building on the success of 2018, in which hundreds of people discovered the Upper Falls Greenway, this year’s program promises to be bigger and better with more sculptures and events. By joining the arts community with local residents and businesses, the N2 Innovation District Initiative aims to activate the greenway as a gathering point for everyone.

“An innovation district relies on the happy accidents that happen when people come together. That’s why programs involving the arts are so important. They bring people together in a very natural way,” said Tanowitz. “We’re looking at this as a pilot program we hope can extend into additional arts programs throughout the N2 area.”

Built on an abandoned railroad bed that once served the industrial mills in the area, the Upper Falls Greenway is a mile-plus linear park terminating at a scenic overlook of the Charles River. Development of the trail was a community effort that resulted in its opening in 2016. The trail surface itself is rolled stone dust, a nice surface for walking and bicycling.

The group aims to raise $14,000 to cover the costs of paying the artists, installing and maintaining the art, as well as promoting and celebrating the exhibit, making this truly a community-supported effort.

The fundraising effort extends through June 1 and the display is set to open on June 13. Click here to donate.