MADISON (WKOW) — The City of Madison has commissioned Wisconsin artist Nate Page to create an outdoor sculpture for the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park.
Page’s “The Passage of Being” was selected after a multi-step process that included soliciting bids for artist designs, narrowing down finalists, getting thousands of resident responses through an online survey and visiting nearby Sandburg Elementary School for direct feedback from youth. The Madison Arts Commission, Madison Public Library and Madison Parks announced the selection.
“We are thrilled to have the Nate Page sculpture ‘The Passage of Being’ as the signature piece at the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park,” said Trent Miller, Bubbler program coordinator. “This piece will beautifully reflect the park surroundings while also acting as a portal for visitors to move through.”
The sculpture has two distinct sides. When looking at it from the Imagination Center, the front will represents the strength of community opening a pathway toward nature. The community is represented by layered planes of color, which are drawn from the national flags of prominent immigrant communities in Northeast Madison.
On the reflective side, the sculpture opens outward, reflecting the surrounding park and its activity onto the library’s architecture. The sculpture will measure approximately 16 feet high, 10 feet wide and 30 inches deep.
Page has created site-specific public artworks for more than 15 years. Recent commissions include works for the City of San Diego, Miami-Dade County and Getty Pacific Standard Time. He received his BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and his MFA from CalArts.
“I was excited to create a work for the Imagination Center because of its unique combination of park and library,” Page said. “Growing up near Madison, recreation and places of learning always felt separate to me, so this project offered a rare opportunity to create something shaped by the energy, interaction and sense of community that emerges when those worlds are brought together.”
District 12 Alder Julia Matthews said the public art piece is helping build a deeper sense of community in District 12 and in District 17. She said she is grateful for the work to directly include kids from Sandburg Elementary in the feedback process.
“This new project will help connect the library to the park and greater neighborhood, creating a destination,” Matthews said.
The Madison Common Council approved the final design on March 24.
The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park is currently under construction at 1818 Portage Road. The 17,500-square-foot building will serve as both a library and community gathering space, with free Wi-Fi, public computers and resources for health, wellness, work and education.