When landscape designer and artist Ponnapa Prakkamakul looks around, she sees possibilities.
She saw the wall of a decommissioned noodle factory and transformed it into a mural of noodles bounding out of bowls like rays of sunshine. She saw the bathroom of the restaurant Mahaniyom and transformed it into an immersive glow-in-the-dark portrait of Boston blended with imagery from Thai folklore. She saw an under-utilized lot (that some individuals used as a public restroom) and transformed it into a cove of bright, geometric benches engraved with the stories of local residents.
These are just some of Prakkamakul’s lush and colorful creations, which spring from sidewalks and glaze the faces of buildings all across Boston. Her fierce colors and smooth strokes wind and curl until they’ve nestled themselves into the curvature of the landscape.
But her work isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s meant to empower the community.
“I see art as a way to transform things, places or spaces and how people feel,” Prakkamakul said.
Growing up in Thailand, Prakkamakul’s creative vision was influenced by the artists in her family and the vibrant colors all around her. She carried this background to the United States, where she studied landscape architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design and served in residencies across New England. Now, she’s become a beloved part of the neighborhoods she has worked in.
“She feels like an old friend, because we see her around working, doing artwork for other organizations,” said Ashley Yung, theater and performance manager at the Pao Arts Center, who worked with Prakkamakul on her latest mural as part of the Experience Chinatown Arts Festival 2024.
Prakkamakul’s works are informed by the neighborhood around them. Her mural for the Experience Chinatown project includes a depiction of a lockstitch sewing machine, reflecting the history of textile industry’s embedment in Chinatown during the 19th century.
For her aforementioned installation of benches, “Sampan,” she spent hours talking to Chinatown residents and eventually inscribing their anecdotes onto the benches in English, Chinese and Braille. Her “Year of the Dragon” installation, a colorful dragon head marking the end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy (as if the greenway was the dragon’s long, winding body), was informed by a series of workshops from which she collected residents’ drawings and calligraphy to incorporate into the dragon’s design.
One person who she worked with in these workshops is Quyen Vo, who was involved in the Asian Community Development Corporation’s (ACDC) youth programs. Prakkamakul has engaged with many residents through collaborations with community advocacy and development organizations, including ACDC, the Greater Boston Chinatown Golden Age Center, the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, and others.
“When I first met her in 10th grade, I didn’t really have a specific passion,” said Vo. “Meeting her and seeing the work she’s involved in kind of opened me up to different career paths. And I have a really big appreciation for public art, and I’m really excited about how I can interact with more public art in the future.”
The interactivity of Prakkmakul’s work reminds residents they retain ownership over the work. “The Year of the Dragon” is outfitted with stairs, drums, and moving knobs that not only make the piece more ornate, but invite passerby to play with it.
“It is important to me that the community can engage with the installation,” said Prakkamakul. “Spurring playful interactions such as hopping, sliding, or sitting, my design will help community members express that they have rights and ownership in public open space and this dragon belongs to them.”
For many, Prakkmakul’s pieces have come to advocate for the importance of community and the places that hold it together.
“There’s been so much synergy and cross-section between spatial justice, land justice, and art and organizing,” said Jenna Chang, former director of Design and Programs at the ACDC. “She’s [Ponnapa] been a socially engaged artist, doing this work before it became ‘trendy.’”
Ultimately, Prakkamakul hopes her work inspires residents not only to connect with their home, but to take agency over their own futures.
“I hope that I can help [new and existing residents] feel connected to this place a little faster or easier,” Prakkamakul said. “Talking about the future, I feel that it’s helped residents to think about how they can improve their neighborhood.”
Prakkmakul continues to re-imagine spaces around Boston. As a project manager and landscape designer for Sasaki, she’s been working on a re-design of Reggie Wong Memorial Park slated to begin construction in 2025.
