Art lovers and winter warriors are celebrating Boston’s third-annual Winteractive Art Exhibition, a free outdoor art exhibition seeking to breathe life into Downtown Boston, running through March 29. From see-saws to sight-seeing, the Downtown Boston Alliance has produced an exhibit for everyone.
Winteractive held a kickoff event Jan. 14, complete with live music, custom cocktails and panels featuring a host of artists and collaborators who contributed to Winterfest 2026.
Since then, Bostonians of all ages have flocked to the more than 16 installations scattered from Downtown Crossing to Boston Harbor, with many of the exhibits being interactive and offering an experience that engages the viewer with more than just visuals.
Downtown Crossing hosts the most installations in one place, with exhibits ranging from huge, peering eyes at Brattle Bookstore, to massive monsters bursting through the windows above McDonald’s, to Walruses on the rings of Saturn, living their best life.
Suffolk freshman, Madison Donahue, was one of the many visitors who was excited for the installations.
“I think it’s a really fun way to make art accessible to the public,” said Donahue. “It also brings up topics that are really important, like the whale statue outside of the aquarium being built for the endangered wildlife.”
Another Suffolk freshman, Abby Poole, explained that while she hadn’t seen every installation, the city feels much more vibrant with them.
“I think it makes the city feel so much more alive,” Poole said. “Whenever I walk past the big eyes on West, I see people stop and take a picture. It brings a lot of joy.”
Poole used the Brattle Bookstore installation, called the “Big Other,” as an example.
(Cavan Brady)
“It also just makes the city feel way more united, which is something we all need at this time,” said Poole.
Though the exhibits range in function, design and interactivity, there seems to be a common thread: undying, unique displays of childlike whimsy and imaginative creativity.
Winteractive 2026 will run through March 29, and is free for all ages to attend, play and interact with the art around them.
