June 2024

Transform was written by New Bedford’s Poet Laureate, Sarah Jane Mulvey. This original work of art was commissioned by DATMA as part of our annual poetry series that launches each exhibition season.

This noble beast is “Plastic Rooster.” Peripatetic Portuguese artist Bordalo II installed him in New Bedford last week as part of Massachusetts Design Art and Technology Institute’s (DATMA) “TRANSFORM: Reduce, Revive, Reimagine” 2024 public art programming. The piece stands proudly outside the YMCA.

Portuguese social artivist Bordalo II debuts his latest statement sculpture downtown as part of a DATMA exhibition. Massive in scale, vibrant with color, it demands attention.

Portuguese artist Bordalo II collaborated with 11th-grade Metal Fabrication students from the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, who built the structure from steel and wood.

DATMA, the Massachusetts Design, Art, Technology Institute, is back in New Bedford for a sixth season, with a spotlight on public art, educational programs for adults and kids, and technology.

New Bedford’s Downtown District is now home to an awe-inspiring new art installation: a 24-foot rooster made entirely from recycled plastics. This stunning piece, crafted by renowned Portuguese artist Artur Bordalo (Bordalo II) along with his team members João Sobral and João Carvalho, was revealed on June 14th at 10:00 AM.

NEW BEDFORD – About 880 pounds of waste materials from the SouthCoast region were pieced together by world-renowned Portuguese street artist Bordalo II over the course of a week and a half to give shape to the newest public art exhibition in downtown New Bedford. 

Bordalo II looks for the correct piece, as his assistants install sections of the head of the rooster sculpture he is making on Union Street in New Bedford using discarded plastic.

NEW BEDFORD — A semi-permanent giant rooster is being installed at Union and North 2nd Street as part of DATMA’s “Transform: Reduce, Revive, Reimagine,” exhibition set for June 14.