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> Bench Project
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The Bench Project
The Bench Project is a regional, community art project that engages young people to design, create, locate and care for a bench – each a unique work of art.
Located throughout the St. Croix Valley, each bench uses creativity and civic engagement to:
1) Build relationships and a sense of civic responsibility.
2) Spark appreciation for the St. Croix River – its history and wildlife –and other special qualities of each participating community.
3) Draw residents and visitors to the region’s rich natural and cultural
offerings.
Each bench is constructed by youth and local citizens with an artist or craftsperson. Everyone takes part in the project, each expressing their creativity.
The Bench Project is a partnership of The Phipps Center for the Arts and the
St. Croix Valley Foundation with community groups throughout the St. Croix Valley.
Take a tour of the St. Croix Valley, bench by bench. Click here to download a guide to the six completed Bench Projects.
| Marine on St. Croix 2009 |
| Designed by 4th and 5th graders from Marine Elementary School with local artist Karron Nottingham, this bench was inspired by Native American and lumber history as well as the St. Croix River’s natural beauty. The bench was constructed by the artist, current and former students from Marine Elementary, their families and other community members. Minnesota Historical Society’s Mill Site Park marks the site of the first commercial sawmill on the St. Croix. |
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| Bayport 2006 |
This bench grew out of several intergenerational storytelling gatherings involving local Girl Scout Troops 92, 515, 1204, 1610 and 2138 and senior residents of Croixdale, a senior living center. Together, they worked with Stillwater artist Judy Sell to build the bench and to create and apply the mosaic designs. “Kindness is Key” was inspired by the keys that hang on the bench. They represent the 40-year history of residents.
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| Prescott 2008 |
Sixty community members worked on this bench with artist John Turula, including Friends of Freedom Park volunteers, youth from the Helping Hands 4-H and Prescott High School’s Ecology Club members. Through presentations on Dakota wildlife, butterfly habitat and a number of art-making workshops, participants determined the shape and orientation of the bench, shaped and glazed all of the tiles by hand, and worked together to attach and grout the tiles.
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| St. Croix Falls 2006 |
Nine summer school students ages 9 to 12 worked with artists, poets and naturalists to design this bench over two action-packed weeks. They hiked trails, toured Franconia Sculpture Park and created bronze sculptures with local artist James Shoop. In their own words, the children wanted the bench to reflect “the importance of keeping the natural environment intact, the past of the natural environment, the hope for its future and the great beauty of St. Croix Falls.”
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| Somerset 2008 |
| Through a series of community-building and educational activities, 38 special education elementary and high school students worked with local craftsman Bruce Martell to design and create this stone and tile bench that reflects Somerset’s unique history and place in the watershed. The stone was quarried not far from town, and the students found objects in and around their homes and school that they then pressed into clay tiles. |
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Hudson 2006
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| The River Bench was created by 60 Hudson children and parents who contributed more than 1,000 hours to the project, working with local artist Lynn Jermal. The history of Hudson’s connection to the St. Croix River is expressed in mosaic designs throughout the fish-shaped bench, including Native Americans paddling their canoes, birds and other wildlife and children playing along its shores. An engraved stone timeline also marks Hudson’s history. |
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