PLACE has been honored to commission artists to create major works of permanent outdoor art in its projects. These works are always available and accessible to the public.

WĀV (Working Artists Ventura) in California

A Basket of Art

Petra Pico (1834-1902), the renowned basket weaver of Chumash heritage, once resided on the location where the artists’ community, Working Artists of Ventura (WĀV) now stands. The only items from the Chumash period that were recovered from the site were a mortar, pestle, and mortar stone, however, supervising archeologists traced the history of the site, including Petra Pico's presence, through documents.

The history of art and culture on this location has been long and significant. The public art piece, A Basket of Art, commemorates Pico’s contribution to her community, and at the same time, offered a vessel to hold the artwork of the children of Grades 4 and 5 of the Ventura Charter School. Their pursuit in understanding public art brought them to the WĀV, which then led to the production of this basket that holds their painted stones.

The concept of a basket expresses the idea that life is a platform or container to hold what is created; either art or useful objects. The contents are the expression of all sustenance that gives the vessel purpose.

Over time, the painted stones have been exchanged for other items and the work continues to evolve.

A Basket of Art is part of the Make Your Mark on the WĀV public art project created by Lana Gregory. The basket concept was created by WĀV artist Sarah Kalvin. The design and materialization of the piece is by Sarah Kalvin and WĀV artist CarolAnn Swangler. The materials in the creation of the basket were sponsored by Sarah Kalvin, Lana Gregory, and CarolAnn Swangler.

The creators wish to acknowledge Ramon Romero, owner of Old World Iron, who generously built the iron basket as a donation to the WĀV and to the Ventura community of children for their education.

Learn more about at Petra Pico at the Research Library at the Museum of Ventura County and about Petra and the Chumash basketweavers of the period at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Raising the Stones

The sculpture collaboration, Raising the Stones, by Paul Lindhard, G. Ramon Byrne, and Stephen Schafer, recognizes the impact of the mission colonization of Ventura and the WĀV site, which had previously been the home and workplace of indigenous artists. A mission wall was excavated and preserved in the redevelopment of the industrialized and then abandoned brownfield on which WĀV is built. The sculptors selected stones from that wall to create their piece.

Poet Marsha de la O was inspired by the sculpture to write Raising Stone - Alta California. At the sculpture dedication in 2015, the artists added a plaque containing her poem to the wall beside the sculpture. The text is reproduced below.

Minnesota

Kada Goalen - Mural

As a local Twin Cities artist with over 20 years of experience, Kada Goalen has built a career creating art for a variety of city, non-profit and private clients. In her role as founder and lead artist of Kada Creative, she blends expertise and artistry with the client's vision to create art that positively impacts a space and those who interact with it. With each project, Kada loves to engage the community with creativity and color.

Kada's selected design for Via Sol (now Zelia on Seven) features a background of bold colors and shapes, with leaves, branches and natural elements interspersed. The focal point of the mural are five birds, each native to Minnesota, and characterized by their unique traits and qualities. A special surface was integrated into the building's skin above the main lobby entrance to host this work. Kada completed the mural on a tight schedule and under harsh conditions during a record-breaking heatwave. Hers was the first piece of outdoor art finished for the campus. The mural is visible to the Cedar Lake Trail and the light rail line and station.

Learn more about Kada at Kada Creative.

Jendayi Berry - Moon

Jendayi Berry is a self-taught, multidisciplinary emerging artist born, raised and based in Minneapolis. With degrees in architecture and technical and small business management, Berry has honed his technical skills and knowledge working professionally as a concrete foreman on private and commercial development.

This is Berry's first public artwork commission. His piece was created from poured resin, rolled into a helix shape to suggest a crashing wave. Atop the wave sits an illuminated sphere: the moon, to provide balance with the building's sun-focused features.

Learn more about Jendayi at Jendayi Berry Art.

Randy Walker - Branches

Randy Walker earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon and worked in that field for over ten years before turning full time to public art. In the last fifteen years, Walker has completed public commissions in California, North Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arkansas and New Mexico. He has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Forecast Public Art, the McKnight Foundation, and is a five-time recipient of the Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Walker’s work has been recognized nationally by the Americans for the Arts’ Public Art Year in Review in 2005 and 2012. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Randy has resided in Minneapolis for twenty years.

Randy's selected design features a series of painted steel tubes to create a tree-like figure, standing nearly 20-feet tall and with a planting bed at its base that can be maintained and rotated seasonally. The colors of the tubes reflect colors of trees in each of the four seasons in Minnesota. Each tube is oriented in either a) the direction of the City's street grid; b) the parallel multi-modal transportation lines the light rail, Cedar Lake Trail, and Highway 7; or c) the sharp lines and angles of the  building itself. 

Learn more about Randy and his sculpture at Via Sol at Randy Walker Arts and Branches.