filed under: art along trails
The Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail commissioned this Art Concept Plan to lay the groundwork for the placement of public art along the Trail. This Plan identifies sites in which art could most effectively be placed, establishes principles for its placement, and explores how art can go beyond familiar conventions to reinforce the identity of the Trail and its surroundings.
Historically, public art has served a variety of purposes. Traditional monuments commemorate important leaders, heroic individuals, and significant events. Allegorical works express the aspirations, achievements, and civic virtues of a community. Modern works more often relate abstractly to their immediate surroundings, with an emphasis on aesthetic considerations or conceptual meanings. Recent developments have led to a greater awareness of the role of public art in establishing a sense of place, creating a welcoming, engaging, or even occasionally challenging environment within a particular community.
The Hank Aaron State Trail (HAST) occupies a unique place in the Wisconsin State Parks and Trails system. Located in the heart of the Milwaukee metropolitan region, it has an urban character, interspersed with natural features as accents. In contrast with a traditional park, the HAST exists primarily within an architectural and cultural context. In order to enhance its identity as an urban park and to help make it a destination, the Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail developed this Plan to guide and inspire the placement of public art along the Trail.
This Plan is intended to be a comprehensive but flexible framework that will guide the way artists, donors, public officials, Friends, and other members of the Milwaukee community think about public art and how it can be incorporated into the Trail.
The Plan includes a catalogue of sites and a set of guiding principles. Sites appropriate for the placement of art are identified and discussed within nine zones that extend from Lake Michigan to Miller Park. A set of general principles outline a practical basis for the placement of art, including how it relates to physical, ecological, historical, and cultural features and how it can enhance a user’s experience of the Trail.
The Plan concludes with an extensive list of national and international precedents, including public artworks that can be found locally. These are intended to stimulate discussion and inspire a broad understanding of the possibilities for public art and are not meant to be directives.
Actual publication date note available.
Published August 2020
September 11th National Memorial Trail to Offer Interactive Map
The September 11th National Memorial Trail is a 1,300-mile system of trails and roadways that link the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Art Ports Allow More Options for Public Art
This new products proposes infrastructural necessities of public art be decoupled from the work, and instead be a part of the Active Transportation landscape. This manifests in flexible, reusable, foundational footings designed with temporary and permanent public art opportunities in mind.
A presentation by Owen Worozbyt, Trail and Environmental Program Officer of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail.
2020 American Trails Costume Contest Results!
Every year we ask you to get outside in your costume and send us photos! This year we had some fantastic entries from several different trail user types.
