Client: City of Salem

Overview

The Community Table for People and Pollinators is a large scale table on Artists’ Row that encourages people to stop, sit, eat, learn about native plants, make friends, and discover art in public space. The table represents an imagined landscape of creativity with a collage of artful and natural materials form local artists and surrounding natural areas aimed to nourish local communities. The integration of native plant gardens for pollinators aims to expand the notion of community to that of the smallest endangered creatures in our ecosystem.

Process

The City of Salem enlisted an Artist in Residence on Artist Row (AiR) to develop a project to stimulate use and community. The AiR engaged in three meetings with the core stakeholders (Artists’ Row Tenants and Public Art Planner) to determine project goals. The main goal was to create a semi-permanent piece that incorporated Artists’ Row tenants materials, natural materials found on the forest floor, and pollinators. The project was created by the local community - drop-ins and artists - during the weekly farmers' market over the course of six weeks in the summer.

Additional Information

The Public Art Salon ran from July 13 – August 17th meeting weekly during the Salem Farmers’ Market from 3-7pm The AiR held six Spontaneous Salons to work on the project. During these informal workshops, she worked for stretches of time alone on Artists’ Row, still visibly making art and also engaged people who expressed interest in the project, which resulted in more one on one time with participants. Over the course of the Spontaneous Salons people who participated in the project spent an average of 45minutes to an hour painting or art-making.