Where will they Sleep? And Other Questions about the Day Shelter

Note added 3-6-2016 by the author: On Wednesday, September 23rd, an article on the Wisconsin State Journal website announced "County Executive Joe Parisi on Wednesday announced that the county has an accepted offer to purchase for $1.42 million the former Messner Inc. property at 1326 E. Washington Ave." This was big news to me (and most others) and I published this blog article four days later. 

The following was an attempt to express my frustration about an overt breach in process and my wariness about rushing a project that would have impact beyond its immediate scope. My curiosity led me to ask questions, and the answers I got left me distrustful of the plan. 

Re-reading what I wrote, now five months later, I'm sure I could have done a better job of expressing my concerns. Unfortunately, the project has stalled as the details continue to be unclear. This February article summarizes the situation.

The Lodestar Day Resource Center is a model for the proposed Day Shelter on the corner of East Washington Avenue and Baldwin Streets in Madison. On Friday, a Madison social worker attempted to call Lodestar in Phoenix seven times to ask some questions. Specifically, she was interested in the fact that the day shelter, like the one proposed for Madison, has no overnight facility, as this is not typical.

Day shelters are only open during business hours. Most others, I understand, have an over-night shelter associated with it so that folks have a place to go when the doors close.
Unfortunately, no one ever answered the phone at Lodestar. http://lodestardrc.org/about/

* * * * *

The City of Madison is receiving national attention in recent weeks. Along with other liberal cities, Madison attracts people who need services, services which may be more forthcoming and available here. This New York Times article points out the homeless population has increased 40% in four years. 

The same article also points out that our Mayor is not happy about the problems associated with this increase, specifically public drug use, public urination/defecation, and the health concerns of having needles left laying around. 

Just last week, the County announced they have an option to buy the Messner building on the 1300 block East Washington to retrofit for a permanent Day Shelter. This building is a few blocks from my house and shares a back fence with the Tenney Nursery School and Parent Center, where my youngest daughter goes to school. 

I saw the article posted on the neighborhood Facebook page, then read on the neighorhood listserv that same day this comment from County Supervisor Heidi Wegleitner:

I will be advocating for county funding security improvements for the Tenney Parent Nursery Center as we provided with the Rainbow Project when we operated a day shelter at 827 E. Washington Ave.


This got my attention. Security improvements...

 * * * * *

The Tenney-Lapham neighborhood, where I live and about which I write here at Between Two Lakes, is a downtown residential neighborhood. In recent years, two temporary Day Shelters for the homeless have been located in the neighborhood along East Washington Avenue. From 2011-2012 on the 700 block, then the following winter on the 800 block. They caused some problems, but the facilities were temporary.

The City of Madison was not involved in the plan to purchase the Messner building to build a permanent Day Shelter, and in fact local officials learned about it the same way neighborhood residents learned about it: in this newspaper article. 

Over the past few days, it has been explained to me by more than a few people, in a more than a few ways, that the 'City of Madison' and 'The County' do not get along. You may think, duh, because maybe this is common knowledge. I just didn't realize the extent to which they refuse to work together, let alone talk to each other.

This is an unfortunate relationship because the County represents the State of Wisconsin. Madison is located in Dane County and is subservient to the County's needs. In other words, the County can tell the City that it will do that within city limits. 

However, there is a process for doing things and this process was ignored.   

The City may go a bit overboard, but if they are going to replace a square of sidewalk in front of a house, the owner of the house is notified first to explain the situation, then to ask for input, then to schedule the date of service. It is a process.

Here is the County's stated process, from their published report, for siting a Day Shelter:

1. -County real estate staff search
2. -Consult with local officials to identify potential sites
3. -Request for proposals (optional)
4. -Input from temporary resource center operator
5. -Public hearing(s) prior to acquisition to get community input on general location or specific sites
6. -Neighborhood meetings for each prospective site
7. -Identify location 
8. -Seek County board approval
9. -Application for zoning/conditional use if necessary (10 weeks lead time)

At least steps 5 and 6 were skipped. Any project with this level of impact deserves neighborhood input and consideration of surrounding consequences. The site has been selected with an option to purchase. I understand that the natural next step is for the City to issue a Conditional Use Permit. In other words, despite the tone of the article, this is not yet a done deal.

The County has done this before, side-stepped and side-swiped the City in order to attempt to build a day shelter. In 2012, as reported in the Wisconsin State Journal: 

"It appears that the city of Madison is the chosen municipality for locating a day shelter, yet our professional staff were not consulted and asked to assist in vetting potential sites," the mayor wrote to Parisi. 

Joe Parisi is the Dane County Executive who has also arranged for the purchase of the Messner building last week.

* * * * *

Regular readers know that I'm a fan of the 'lighter, quicker, cheaper' model of getting things done a lot of the time. Building a permanent day shelter that includes things like lockers and showers, as well as meeting rooms for regularly scheduled mental health and drug treatment services, seems to me to be the opposite of something that should be done quickly, as it is not light or cheap. 

The news article explains that over $1 million in renovations of the Messner building will begin immediately, and some hope it can be used as soon as this winter.

At the time the article published, there were no public input meetings scheduled. 

As of Sunday, September 27th, four days after the public announcement via a newspaper article, there is now a public meeting scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th at 7PM at the Messner Building, 1326 E. Washington Avenue.

* * * * *

As a neighbor, I have these questions:

- The majority of the examples shared* as 'models' upon which this Day Shelter is based also offer overnight facilities. The proposed East Washington Day Shelter will be closed after business hours. What is the plan? Where will people go, after hours?

-The surrounding parks are Burr Jones, the Yahara Riverway, Tenney Park, Central Park, BB Clark, Morrison Park, Orton Park, Reynolds Park and James Madison Park. Does the Parks Department have the budget to maintain a high standard of safety and offer the additional needed facilities (public bathrooms) for a greater concentration of homeless people?

-How does the Day Center fit into the Cap East plan for future development? Was the Day Shelter discussed in relationship to other projects underway?

-How will Tenney Nursery and Parent Center fare? It shares the block with the proposed Day Center and is a unique neighborhood business and resource, and parent cooperative established in 1979. Was this considered when the site was selected?

Why place a Day Shelter alongside a nursery school?

My fourth question comes after reading a letter printed in the Wisconsin State Journal. It was written in 2012 by the Director of the Rainbow Project, a clinic that serves children and their families. She strongly and emphatically opposed placing the temporary day shelter next to the Rainbow Project, which is located at 831 East Washington. She argues that known sex offenders will be in close proximity to the women and children served by Rainbow Project, and that she feels her voice is not being heard.

No one has answered our inquiries about how the shelter staff will monitor registered sex offenders who are legally prohibited to reside near a facility where children are present.

We believe homeless individuals need a safe and warm shelter during the winter, and they need permanent housing and mental health and substance abuse treatment. We serve some homeless families and know that many of them have reported not feeling safe in shelters.

Unlike Downtown businesses worried about the homeless and the impact from a dollar perspective, we are worried about safety of our consumers. We do not have the clout and dollars to pressure decision makers to influence where shelters are located.

We feel we have been ignored and placated because our consumers do not vote, and we are a small nonprofit. We will not be the scapegoats for this community's poverty and homeless problems.

We have also been caught in the crossfire between the city and county accusing each other of not doing enough for the homeless. It is the county's attempt to publicly show they are doing something, but it is clearly at the expense of the young children and adult caregivers we work with.

I hope neighborhood parents voices will not similarly be discounted. Despite this plea copied in part above, the shelter was opened next door at 827 E. Washington. 

* * * * *

Why is our neighborhood again caught in this crossfire between the County and the City? 

Your thoughts can be emailed to these people:

• Our alder Ledell Zellers: district2@cityofmadison.com
• Our district County Supervisor Heidi Wegleitner: heidimayree@gmail.com
• Mayor's Office: mayor@cityofmadison.com
• City Planning: hstouder@cityofmadison.com

* Examples provided  from County Supervisor Heidi Wegleitner via email: 

"Here are a few examples.   Some of these also have overnight shelter,  but the county is planning only for a day center in accordance with the 2/13 report." -Heidi on 9/25/2015

Portland

http://www.huduser.gov/portal/casestudies/study_12202012_1.html

St. Paul

http://www.cctwincities.org/DorothyDayCenter

Phoenix

http://lodestardrc.org/about/

The Lure of the Market: Here and Everywhere, Now and Always

The large and colorful "Nanas" sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle are iconic public art works along the Leine River in Hannover, Germany, where a large flea market sets up weekly.

A part of me grew up in Germany. It is the part of me that has little patience for bad bread and the part of me that prefers traveling by train, commuting by bike, and shopping at a market. That part of me also loves hot dogs, even American ones.

The last time I actually lived in Germany, it was 1996. So I am thrilled to find (via the internet) that the flea market that hummed behind our downtown apartment every Saturday still continues. The Altstadt-flohmarkt, pictured above, has been around for 40 years (same as me) selling "kitsch, art, odds 'n ends, and junk like you might find in your grandmother's attic" in the heart of the old city along a river called the Leine. 

This summer, on my current home turf, there was an exciting new urban pop-up flea market staged every other weekend along the Yahara River: Mad City Bazaar.  

Meghan Blake-Horst is the co-founder of Mad City Bazaar and a hard-working advocate for both the arts and public markets. I met her after she had returned from the International Public Markets Conference in Barcelona. The conference celebrated the way markets the world over are authentic places where local economic systems function, cultural practices are preserved and evolve and intermingle, and connections between rural and urban people happen. 

The Looking Glass Baker, Stephanie Kaat, had such a sweet display table, I couldn't resist. She bakes at the nearby FEED Kitchens so we don't have to turn our ovens on during hot summer days.

What I love about Mad City Bazaar is that it pumps the well for the Madison Public Market while also pushing for an expanded idea of what a 'market district' can look like. It is also refreshing to see this more industrial stretch of the Yahara River as the setting for truly creative efforts. 

Mermaid Cafe folks selling coffee and amazingly refreshing watermelon ginger lemonade...reminded me I haven't had one of their Bahn Meatless sandwiches in TOO long. That is my favorite sandwich in the city!

The city has been studying the feasibility of a public market for more than a decade. Mayor Paul Soglin has been committed to making this market happen within his own tenure. However, he recently delayed new spending for the market until 2021. I'm sure this was a hard decision for the Mayor to make, after all the thinking that has gone into the planning up to this point, and the magnitude of the discussion around any capital expenditure of this size. 

Janet Chen mixing drinks with her Mad Maiden shrubs. We talked recipes for drinking vinagars and I fell for the Orchard Overload concoction. 

There are Public Hearings from now until early November for the 2016 Capital Budget, which 'envisions' over 10 million dollars for the Public Market in 2021. This is when the chosen site at East Johnson and First Street is due to become available. Of course, six years from now, this area of town, and the politics of the city and state, are likely to look at least a little different. 

Carrie Simon and Live Svande showing their love for the Pudgie Pie. I have only made grilled cheese in my camping pie irons, but I'm inspired by their cookbook full of ideas (like adding a Mallo Cup to create an improved S'more!)

For now, Mad City Bazaar sets up on weekends bi-monthly in the parking lot at 1800 E. Washington Avenue and at the top of State Street every Thursday through the end of September. 

And once again, I am reminded that the city is full of truly creative people. For these wise folks, the 'lighter, quicker, cheaper' path often makes the most sense. Sure, I hope the City produces a Public Market and Market District, but meanwhile, all we need is here. 

Calling All Fools: Sunday, June 14th

Coming up this Sunday is the best party on water I know about! The kids want to dress as pirates this year and we've been practicing our pirate accents for weeks.

Everyone is invited! It is organized by my buddy Helen and her fabulous organization, River Alliance of Wisconsin, and it is a ton of fun.  

You have two choices: Get in a boat or stand on the shore smiling while the parade paddles past.

 

To join the parade: dress up your boat, your kids and the dog, too. Or not. Just come. You might bring an instrument and play along with the floating band. Or just drum on the side of your boat! 

We meet at 9:30 AM at Tenney Park, near the parking lot between Sherman and Johnson Streets (across from the tennis courts) to get decorated and set up.  We'll start putting in the water around 10 AM and float under all those bridges, past all the admiring and cheering on-lookers, to the Yahara Place Park on Lake Monona, site of the Marquette Waterfront Festival. 

Need more encouragement? I wrote four reasons Why the Fools Flotilla Matters last year. I still believe.

Come down to the River!

Sunday, June 14th

Boats hit the water around 10 AM

Who Lures the Birds Back every Spring?

It is spring. The streets and parks are coming alive after a Wisconsin winter. People are greeting each other outside again, rushing to fire up their grills. Along with robins and the color green, the fake gourds made of white plastic are back, hanging from wooden poles in my local waterfront park. 

If you are like me, you have noticed these gourds at some point but don't really know what (or who) they are for. And maybe you have a vague awareness that they hang there sometimes, but not all the time?

After my first baby was born, I walked through Tenney Park at least once a day in order to get her to sleep or to keep myself awake. I noticed this: there are a lot of birds there, and birds of different colors, not just the brown chirping ones.

The story is, many years ago a bunch of Tenney-Lapham neighbors would gather in Burr Jones Park during summer evenings to watch the Purple Martins roosting in the old Box Elder trees. There were 4,000-5,000 of the large swallows! They filled the sky in swirling, swooping waves. 

The description make me think of the now famous urban bat colony in Austin. I've seen them fill the downtown skies at twilight and it is one of those things that moves you. 

Bob Shaw and Jim Sturm were moved. They  got grant money from the City of Madison and the neighborhood association to install the twenty-four Purple Martin houses in Tenney Park in 2000. Bob stores the plastic gourds in his garage during the winter while the birds are in Brazil. They migrate north, as far as lower Canada, to nest and breed. 

Bob watches the Purple Martin Conservation Association scout report to get the houses hung at just the right moment, after the first ones are spotted on the Illinois/Wisconsin border. 

Too soon and other birds will build nests in them. Too late and the Purple Martins may go elsewhere. It's the little things that matter.

"A couple of years we were a bit late and the scouts were waiting there for us to put them up," Bob told me. It took about five years before the birds started using the gourd houses, but Bob and Jim stuck with it, waiting. 

All I know about Purple Martins is thanks to Bob. (The fact that I still don't know that much is my shortcoming, not his failure.) From the links he sent me, I found this interesting: 

East of the Rockies they are totally dependent on human-supplied housing. West of the Rockies and in the deserts they largely nest in their ancestral ways, in abandoned woodpecker nest cavities. Keep reading...

Bob, and so many of our neighbors, do these little things 'behind the scenes' that are really not so little at all. I'm so impressed and grateful. I'm not a birder, so I would have never gone to the trouble in this case. But if I do the little things that matter to me, and everyone else does, too, then what we get is a really active, activated, inspiring community and place to live. 

Planting a few flowers in your front yard, picking up some of the leftover winter trash, or showing up at a neighborhood event, I do think it all counts. And, we could all do a little more, no?

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -Howard Thurman and Amie Heeter

Photo by John Benson

Like it or not, it is the only sure thing.

I like change.

My husband is the type who prefers to put a piece of furniture in its "proper" place and then leave it there for the rest of our days.

I am full of ideas and see possibilities. I imagine change = improvement.

The counterweight of my husband's argument, that maybe things are really good as is, grounds me. Sometimes he is actually right. Some changes I like more than others.

Lost Madison is a wonderful project because it provides context for this moment in history and reminds me of all that is lost when things change. I dare say that this particular moment, and the coming 5-10 years, will bring some pretty significant changes for my neighborhood and the city of Madison. Some of the ideas strike me as nothing short of genius, but many seem like they could go any number of ways.

For example, take a look at these ideas, taken from City of Madison's Planning Division, for the Yahara River Corridor and environs. I'm particularly interested in this urban river and parkway, where Yahara Reflections art installations stood earlier this summer and where I walk whenever I need to cross the isthmus, think deep thoughts, or get a dose of nature with my kids. 

(Click on the images to see them larger)

This portion of shows the Yahara Parkway between Sherman Avenue and East Johnson St.
with a new pedestrian bridge. 

I like the idea of an amphitheater! 

It is hard to say for sure but I think that "Playground Slide" pictures a hillside slide like the Friends of Reynolds Park fought for, and failed to get, when that playground was redesigned recently (see a past post about it here)

Remember, seven earlier plans (drafted between 1994 and 2006) have made recommendations for the Yahara River Parkway and adjacent properties. And remember, there was also a plan for Madison to be connected via high-speed rail to Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Twin Cites. I was so personally attached to that plan, and am still so devastated by what might have been, I am skittish.

According to the City of Madison website, "The purpose of [The Yahara River Corridor Conceptual Study] will be to review these plans and explore implementation strategies. The implementation of these recommendations will require a finer degree of planning and design."

That is not particularly strong, convincing language, so I asked my Alder in District 2, the smart and positive Ledell Zellers, "is this really happening, in your estimation?"

Ledell wrote back: "As with any city plan, some parts happen while others don't.  The parts that fall on city land will require money. And since much of the components are on private land, it would need cooperation from the private landowners, which may or may not happen."

Ed Jepson, who has worked as part of the Friends of the Yahara River Parkway for a long time, says now, as always, the group wants to see changes that keep the parkway "green." Historically, the group has favored plans that increase the public green space and provide a green buffer of landscaping that "compliments the historic landscape plan" as part of the private developments. He says that while some hardscape may be appropriate, he hopes it is kept to a minimum. Two other points of importance, he says, are that businesses or residences should front the parkway, with parking in back, and be built in a way that minimizes storm water run-off into the river. 

I have spent most of my career in the humanities and most of my life as a tantrika, so I believe that context is meaningful and in the end, it's all good. Life is good, and such is life. 

 Not that I don't have opinions. Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. Still, tell your alder what you think. Change is happening and we can steer the course of it.

Why the Fools Flotilla matters

2014 Fools Flotilla, photos by Ray Pfeiffer Komifoto

We have wheels made specifically for rolling a canoe on pavement. My two kids are small enough they can both ride in the canoe to be pulled the 0.42 miles from our house to the Yahara River for the annual floating parade. They look forward to canoe rides of all kinds, happy to wear their life-jacket outfits and play with big-stick-practice-paddles. The oldest has memories of past Flotillas. 

The Fools Flotilla was started by a friend of mine, so the first year I went for her, to be supportive. This year I actually had fun. The kids are not so small anymore, so I relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere instead of fretting about tipping over or pinching little fingers. We All had fun.

But those other years, I wondered a little why we were doing it. It is my kind of thing - costumes, community show of funkiness, nature + culture. And yet it's some work to get the family wrangled on a Sunday morning for organized fun. I think now it matters for these reasons, if not more:

1.  It's a holiday. Many of the holidays we celebrate are prescribed, defined, and constrained by a variety of things. We are not necessarily celebrating what we truly believe. Yet for as long as anyone can remember, people have celebrated holidays. It seems like part of what makes us human. I like that for my family, we have a few holidays that are not on the regular calendar, but that do what holidays are supposed to do as far as I'm concerned: mark the passing of a year, take us out of our normal routine, bring us together with people we enjoy hanging out with, and remind us of the beautiful things in life. In this case, the Fools Flotilla is a way for my family to say we value our river and green space in our neighborhood, we see connections between art and nature, and we are not opposed to dressing silly, making a scene, and living creatively.

2. We need visionary community leaders. These are not the people who are doing very important jobs to deal with urban issues, conduct studies to plan development, find and manage money, and keep the place working. We live in the First World, we assume things work, we complain about our First World problems, and we have hobbies. What gets people excited is a vision in action. People show up to be part of it, and it's because visionary leaders are catching us in the gut, helping us to see what we, too, believe is a better way. I love that the Fools Flotilla is growing - there were more than 50 boats in the river this year - organically, building an audience of fans along the banks and on the bridges. It's not huge, but it's gaining a real, organic momentum that will, I think, be critically influential in the coming years as big decisions are made about the future of the neighborhood and city. This TED talk is about how great leaders inspire is worth watching. 

3. Creativity is contagious and temporary art is memorable. Madison's BLINK program, funded by the Madison Arts Commission, is founded on the truth that ephemeral public art makes a big mark on individuals and a place (in contrast to the traditional public art that looked like a famous and now-dead leader riding a horse). I personally remember art that surprises me, makes me smile, leaves me feeling like I had an experience. The Fools Flotilla inspires us who get in boats, at least, to push our own boundaries of creativity. Some people decorate their boats, other people decorate themselves, their kids, or their pets. I think all of us enjoy having creative outlets, we all benefit from being exposed to more expressions of creativity, and it's really cool when families find ways to make art together.

4. It's playful. It's good for adults to have an excuse to play. I loved pounding on my canoe like it was a drum when the surge of boats passed under the bridges. The huge, collective echo-beat was awesome. The band played songs like "Row Your Boat" we could all shout along to. I was so swept up in the big game of it all, I was shocked when I looked at my watch. I had been in the flow, having fun, playing right alongside my kids and my husband. Another TED talk here by Csikszentmihalyi, who figured out that flow makes people happy.

So now I'm fully on board. I joined the River Alliance of Wisconsin, I'm talking up the Flottila at community meetings, and I'm keeping the memories alive with my kids. Have you been to May Day in Minneapolis? It started small, too.

BLINK and the art is gone.

The exhibition will come down in two short weeks. If you didn't make the walking tour with the artists (John Miller in the picture above), get out there and see it quick!

In theory, I want you to be surprised by each piece. I want it to be your own discovery, a wonderful serendipity that makes you feel like you are momentarily on vacation in your own neighborhood. I want you to be so excited, you tell people "You'll never believe what I saw today while biking/boating/walking by the river..."

But if it takes pictures you make you curious, or photos on facebook to make you feel like you are missing something, that's fine, too. I've seen lots of people stopping to take pictures of the art, laughing, curious, seemingly having a good time.

My family has twice now made the occasion to picnic under this tree and installation by Thomas Ferrella. My kids call this whole thing "my art project," which is a concept familiar to two and four-year-olds. It has been my project for the past months and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Thanks to everyone involved, my co-curator Helen, and Karin at the Madison Arts Commission. Thanks for going to see it all, enjoying it, and coming up with more ways to make life fun and inspired!

City of Madison Parks Division needs us to push them into the future

Last fall, I was very inspired by the city-endorsed conference on "placemaking" organized by 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. There we learned that "lighter, quicker, cheaper" is the obvious way to go for cities like ours.

The main principles of this place-making strategy challenge the efficacy of top-down initiatives to improve neighborhoods with assertions like "the community is the expert" and "start with a vision." Our Mayor, when introducing the keynote speaker from the Project for Public Spaces, said plainly that the City should support good and interesting projects that crop up because it makes for a great community.

Everyone I've worked with in local government, neighborhood associations, and the Parks Division, have embodied this spirit. The ideas of "placemaking" totally make sense to all of us. It's like stating the obvious and putting a label on what people want to do.

But lighter, quicker, and cheaper doesn't exactly describe big machines, big systems, or big bureaucracies. The City of Madison Parks Division is more of a heavy, slow, and pot-bellied beast. It seems they need us to help them loosen their belts and step into the current.

Reflections from the Banks of the Yahara was envisioned with a friend and neighbor to put several temporary art pieces in the parkway along the Yahara River this summer. It is coming together in a ways I think are really beneficial for the neighborhood, for the Cap East District, and for the community. The Madison Arts Commission is supporting the project with money from the BLINK! program for temporary public art.

From May 15 through June 15, five artists' works will be displayed in the Yahara River Parkway between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota. This is park land. Madison has more parks per person than any other U.S. city, by far. Taking care of them all is a huge job. The City of Madison Parks Division is, of course, under-funded, always criticized, and, at the same time, doing what it can to maintain the beautiful parks that define our city.

In the fall, I contacted the Parks people to get permission to install the artworks. The people have been helpful, the process has been hard. I think we're getting somewhere, but we're having to create the paperwork necessary before it can even start to be pushed around. Slowly.

I'm told there is actually no official process for asking to, and getting permission to, install temporary art in a City of Madison park. Which helps to explain why there is not nearly enough art in our public spaces.

Instead of spending time making art, creating a website for the project, organizing cool events in the parkway, and drumming up attention, I'm trying to figure out this Parks thing. Which will feel worth it if, as they say, this project is actually being used as a model for creating a NEW process by which other regular people like myself can propose putting some cool art in a city park.

Two months from now, I hope you can wander down to the river and be delighted by what you find. I hope you see your river newly, take your kids to picnic, and celebrate how wonderful it is to have this greenspace right in the heart of our downtown neighborhoods. Facebook folks, you can start by liking the idea of it.

Meet Me at the River

 

Do you know exactly how far you live from the Mighty Yahara?

I'm looking for friends and neighbors who would like to be part of my art project called "Meet me at the River."

For two weeks in early June, I will put signs in yards within a 3 mile radius of the Yahara River pointing to the Yahara River. The signs will tell you how many miles it is from that spot to the River.

The signs will be part of the temporary installation of public art works by community artists called Reflections from the Banks of the Yahara River that I am co-curating.

Anyone can volunteer their yard. I'll provide a pedometer for those who want to do the walk themselves to determine the mileage.

The signs will be small, but big enough, and made of wood. They will pound into the ground easily, and come out without trouble.

The idea is for people to notice, maybe just one, maybe a few, take note, talk about it, wonder what is going on, and have a pleasant little encounter with public art.

Some people will hopefully follow the signs and head for the River, where they'll find artwork by a number of artists along the parkway.

And for those who host a sign, you might remember to walk down to the River more often. At least, you may remember to head that way to watch the annual Fools Flotilla float by on a Sunday morning in early June. You may even hop in a boat and join revelry as part of the water parade.

Please contact me or comment here if you would like to volunteer your yard!

Call for Public Art Projects: Reflections from the Banks of the Yahara River

This is a call for artists to submit ideas for a collection of outdoor artworks to grace the banks of the Yahara River on Madison’s east side. The temporary exhibition is being organized by neighbors, for neighbors, and will be on view in June of 2014 during the weeks leading up to the Marquette Waterfront Festival and the annual Fools Flotilla. The Flotilla is a floating parade organized by the River Alliance of Wisconsin on the Sunday of the Festival.

The public art installation is being organized to provide interactive experiences and encourage reflections about the Yahara River and Parkway. The organizers will apply for a BLINK! grant from the Madison ArtsCommission to support this temporary public art experience.

What is it about the Yahara River?

Is it a gem in the heart of the city? A diamond in the rough, or a shining jewel? What do you see from the water’s edge? From a boat or a bridge? How do you use the river? Or the parkway? What is missing?

What could a little art do to enhance the place? Start a conversation? Make a point? Create a reflection?

The Yahara River used to be called the Catfish River. It is part of the larger Yahara watershed, a tributary of the Rock River, and mixes with the waters of the Mississippi River at the Gulf of Mexico. It was named the Yahara in 1855 and the parkway and paths along the river were completed in 1906.

Before that, the meandering river and marshland were used as a dump. The Yahara River Parkway was the first park funded by donations from regular people, instead of large gifts from a few donors. They wanted a pleasant place for neighbors to enjoy nature in the city.

In the past 19 years there have been 7 plans and studies making recommendations for the Yahara River Parkway. It was designated a City of Madison Landmark in 1995 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  

The Yahara River “offers tremendous possibilities; not only is it a neighborhood resource, but it offers the citizens of Madison a vast amount of untapped recreational opportunities.”  -a 2013 official statement made by The City of Madison  

Submission Details:

• Provide a description of the proposed work, including size and materials and installation requirements. Responsibility for fabrication, installation, maintenance, and removal of the artwork is assumed by the artist.
• Conceptual Approach Statement explaining how the proposed work will enhance  appreciation of the Yahara River/Yahara River Parkway.  You may include a paragraph describing how participation would advance your art form.
• Your site(s) of choice. You may want to include a photo or map of the site. The organizers will work with selected artists and the City to get necesaary permission and permits. Please note that preferences for locations are not guaranteed.
• Resume or work history. Residents, neighbors, makers, and other creative visionaries are encouraged to submit ideas. Do include photos of previous creations (up to 5 digital images of previous work with descriptions of the projects) that indicate your ability to realize a proposed project.
• Send to bikerbecker@yahoo.com. Digital files can be shared via dropbox or as attachments.
• Deadline: Monday, December 16, 2013.  Decisions will be made and announced by January 1, 2014.

Additional Information:

• Up to 4 proposals will be selected. We are looking for projects that are feasible and that reflect the theme of the proposed project ‘Reflections from the Banks of the Yahara River.’
• Proposals may be for a collaborative piece. You need not be an established or professional artist.
• Reimbursement for supplies up to $250 may be available, contingent on grant funding (an application for a BLINK grant will be submitted in Feb. 2014).
• The organizers will work with selected artists and the City to get necessary permits. Please note that once projects have been selected, these permissions and permits are not guaranteed.