Art and History Meet in the Street

This fall, Shorewood will launch a one-day, art-on-the-street event, featuring original works from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students.

PARK(ing) Day, an annual, worldwide event, invites community members to transform metered parking spots into public art exhibits. Shorewood will join 140 cities in 21 countries on six continents Sept. 16, noon to 7 p.m., in celebration of art.

For Shorewood's exhibit, the village's Public Arts Committee has joined forces with Mo Zell, associate professor at the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Architecture students students will design and install the temporary art at seven different sites throughout the village's business district.

Zell said she is pretty excited about the project.

“Starting the semester with a short-term design project is a great way to engage students right away," Zell said. "This site-specific project provides opportunities for students to become citizen activists, employing their design thinking and analysis skills in a manner that addresses community needs and issues.”

The global PARK(ing) Day art event started in San Francisco in 2005 when a single parking space was transformed into a public park. Shorewood and UWM will build on that idea, creating opportunities to view public art all over the village.

Richard Eschner, Art Committee Chairperson, said he looks at this project as a great opportunity to expand the community's awareness through public art.

"While the designs and their installation on September 16 will be temporary in nature, we hope to further stimulate our resident's interest in public art, while opening up opportunities for residents who may have interest in helping support and fund future public art projects in Shorewood," he said.

As the first class assignment of the year, the architecture students, working in teams of three, will design site-specific sculptures at the seven highly-visible Shorewood sites, near the major intersection of East Capitol Drive and North Oakland Avenue.

It will be photographed and videotaped to be included in Shorewood archives and also uploaded to the international website the day of, and following, the event. Check out the archive – not a lot of U.S. cities have been involved to date.

Shorewood historians and the village planner have been invited into the discussion to help inform the students about the significance of these sites, but now is your chance as well. Residents can give students anecdotal, historical or photographic references that will guide them in their choice of art, when the arts students attend a class somewhere in Shorewood. Place and time have yet to be set.

Committee-member and artist Don Berg said the exhibit will be a great experience for Shorewood.

"Teaming with Mo has been a great pleasure and we hope the student participants, our residents and visitors feel part of a creative/art supporting community,” he said.

Last Sept. the village unveiled the Plensa sculpture, by artist Jaume Plensa, at Atwater Park.

See attached map of sites and map of parking spaces for this unique and lively temporary exhibit that will put Shorewood on a unique, international map.