Filament/Firmament
Artist Ellen Driscoll 's public art project for the Cambridge Public Libary
Make a Donation
Ellen Driscoll’s artwork for the Library will honor the contributions of women to the life of the City
and will be located in a sky-lit, two-story atrium that links the original Library building with the new addition.
Using etched glass, perforated zinc panels, woven cable, text, and textile imagery, Driscoll’s art envelopes the
audience within a metaphorical space. A diagram of the interconnectedness of women’s relational roles, their agency,
and the places they influence and inhabit literally and poetically is brought into three dimensions by an intricate
cable design that forms a web across the atrium, framing the sky seen through the glass roof. This woven design
represents the oldest and most universal of women’s activities – weaving and sewing.
On the first floor of the atrium, the dot pattern of a jacquard loom punch card from the nineteenth century
reveals a colorful lexicon of textile patterns from around the globe, made by the simple act of connecting string to
string in an endless stream of invention. The textile patterns are etched into 240 glass circles cut into a zinc-covered
wall. The jacquard loom punch card is the distinct precursor to the invention of computers, the research tool of the
twenty-first century. The theme attempts to encompass all that may yet happen in the lives of women, men, and the city
and in all fields of inquiry.
The library installation will be linked to educational and outreach programs through an extensive website that will
document stories of the remarkable women of Cambridge. It will serve as a touchstone for study and inspiration and as
a vehicle of inquiry.
Filament/Firmament is a collaborative of the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women, the Cambridge Arts
Council, and the Cambridge Public Library. With the mission of honoring the women of Cambridge, the artist, in
collaboration with a cultural historian, has gathered stories and extensive information from the Cambridge
community and historical resources. This information provides the background and inspiration for the public artwork.
About the Artist: Ellen Driscoll’ s sculpture, drawings, and installations have won her recognition nationally
and internationally. Her numerous public art commissions range from a mosaic, brass, and glass installation in New
York’s Grand Central Station to fabric banners above Boston’s public parks. Solo exhibitions include shows at the
Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. She is a recipient of
Guggenheim and Bunting Fellowships, among other awards, and her work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, and Addison Gallery of American Art. Driscoll is also a professor of sculpture at the
Rhode Island School of Design.
Make a Donation
Filament/Firmament presents Cambridge with a unique opportunity to guarantee the installation of a
permanent work of art honoring the women -- past, present and future – who have created and nurtured our city and
continue to weave its history with theirs.
Your financial support will enable the completion of this project and the interactive website and curriculum linked
with a database that documents the remarkable women of Cambridge.
Each individual gift, whatever your means, celebrates the lives and work of all women. Each contributor or honoree
will be listed for posterity within the fabric of the project.
Golden Threads:each leadership gift over $1000 will be recognized in a manner integral to the site
in consultation with the donors.
Silver Threads:each gift of $500 to $999 will be acknowledged in a visual format closely connected
to the site.
Weavers’ Circle:lend your name or honor an individual, group or institution by sponsoring one of
he glass circles etched with woven textile images with a gift of $240. Each donor or honoree will be inscribed in
the permanent history of the project and on the website.
Downloadable Donation Form | 
