DIY Celebrates Kerouac!

Until April 16, DIY Lowell is looking for ideas honoring Jack Kerouac's creativity and spirit for Kerouac@100, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Lowellian author and poet, Jack Kerouac. Anybody and anyone can submit an idea via this form. The ideas must:

  1.  Take place within or near Kerouac Park, Gold Star Park, or the paths or pathways nearby
  2. Be installation-based*
  3. Be expected to cost $500 or less and be able to be completed by May, 2022
  4. Enhance Kerouac Park or honor the spirit of Jack Kerouac

* Project proposals may have an event component but need to be primarily focused on an installation or permanent improvement

The ideas will be listed on the DIY Lowell website and shared via social media to encourage discussion! On April 16, DIY Lowell staff and the DIY Lowell Advisory Committee will choose "winning" idea(s) based on the following criteria:

  • Feasibility and fit within the above guidelines
  • Ability to engage diverse groups within Lowell
  • Impact and permanence
  • Connection to one or more of the themes of:
    •  Creativity
    • Prose and poetry
    • Kerouac's works or ideas
    • Kerouac's history in Lowell
  • Ability to enhance or coordinate with other efforts already underway in downtown

DIY Lowell will bring the winner(s) to life in a single project! If that project can be expanded beyond the initial sponsorship for DIY Kerouac, we may apply for assistance from the UMass Lowell Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for Public Humanities Request for Project Proposals, due April 20. Community members will be invited to be part of a DIY Lowell Project Team under the guidance of a facilitator that will help flesh out and implement the project. Got an idea? Use the form below!

Want some inspiration? Scroll below the form to see all the ideas we've received so far!