Linking Fences 2019: Community Unity
Public Art Installations Unify Three Communities: Lower Brule, Lead, and Spearfish
Scratch Studios (Creative Arts and Therapies) is excited to announce a new public art project that will have state-wide impact. Working in three South Dakota communities from Spring through Fall of 2019 (Lower Brule, Lead, and Spearfish), each community will be connected to each other and to the project, not only through participation, but through a visual story linking each site through landscape imagery.
Artworks in each community will be woven into existing 6-foot chain link fences with designs developed through a collaborative process that further strengthens connections in and between communities. Primary material for all projects is recycled denim. The installations are designed to last for a minimum of three years. Artist Cary A. Thrall appreciates the support of each community in making public fences available for this project.
Main goals of the project are to forge partnerships to produce more art, develop vision and build communities stronger. “By creating these works, we signify the unity of South Dakota people. We also construct stronger networks and a healthier understanding of how connected we truly are. To be vital, is to be supported.” says artist, Cary A. Thrall. Thrall will work with artist assistants in each community this spring to teach mini-lessons to people of all ages, abilities, and needs. Each participant will leave with a finished artwork and help prepare materials for installation. Material Prep Workshops are taking place this Spring in each community. Linking Fences 2019 installations will be completed this summer. Information on these events can be found by checking CAT Scratch Studios on Facebook.
This project is generously funded by the Bush Foundation Change Network program, and furthers work initiated by ArtCentral, which is funded through a Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant awarded to The Matthews Opera House in 2016 as well as private sponsorships. Additional organizations partnering in and supporting this project include Golden Ridge Assisted Living (Lead, SD), Lower Brule Tribal School – 2ndgrade, Lower Brule Boys and Girls Club, Lead-Deadwood Arts Council, Spearfish Rec & Aquatics Center, Lakota Youth Development and Christ Church Episcopal (Lead, SD).
"We are excited to engage with a diverse group of South Dakotans who span multiple backgrounds, professions, ways of thinking, points of view, and ages," said Kari O’Neill, Community Vitality Field Specialist with SDSU Extension. “One of Change Network’s greatest strengths is the cohort’s ability to learn from and assist each other thanks to their breadth of expertise.”
Sponsorships are welcomed and can be sent to Lead-Deadwood Arts Council Attn: Linking Fences 2019. Thrall is seeking donations of denim to be used for each installation of the Linking Fences project. Clean denim can be dropped off at locations in each of the communities: Lead City Hall (801 Main Street), Spearfish Recreation and Aquatics Center (122 Recreation Lane), Matthews Opera House Art Gallery (512 Main Street, Spearfish), makeSPACE (517 Jackson Blvd, Spearfish), or Circles of Care: PFS Office (Lower Brule).
