Client: City of De Pere, WI

Overview

We created an immersive art experience for the city of De Pere in Wisconsin.
We (Shanna Koltz and Naomi Moes-Jenkens) transformed a long boring alley into something beautiful and unexpected with an educational message about the importance of the honey bee. There is art above you (lights and sculptures) and around you (panels of art images and sculptures)
Every piece in the alley has been thought out and compliments each other while sticking to our narrative.
Besides the art the alley also includes benches, planters, botanicals and other fun accents/surprises. Every aspect has been designed (by us) to compliment the space as a whole.
This Alley is now an outdoor art experience. We have turned a scary boring alley into a place for people to enjoy. It has become a popular spot for visitors and locals.

Goals

We viewed this whole project was a commissioned art project/design. We designed the whole alley, made the art (2D and 3D) and managed the buildout. By planning/designing and picking out every detail of the alley the whole alley feels like a cohesive project.

Process

Naomi Moes-Jenkens and I came up with our "story" and designed a usable space while staying within city guidelines. Naomi made a sample of the bee sculptures and I created an image using proposed colors and textures. We brain stormed about what we wanted the viewer to experience and then we proposed our idea to the city. They (the city planner and mayor) had final say in the process and details but gave us a lot of freedom in the design and buildout. Once the project was approved and the art was created/ printed we managed the design and buildout of the space (construction of benches, planters) the electrical work, the landscaping and the installment of art panels and sculptures.

Additional Information

The Alley also sheds a light on the importance of the Honey Bee. Each 4 foot by 6 foot metal panel has it's own visual message. Some details are hidden. We have people say that they notice different things each time they look at it. This was our desired effect for the art panels... and the bigger than life 3D Bee Sculptures give you the feeling of living among and in harmony with the bees. The pink Flamingo sculptures symbolizes the community (those from our town get this) and also pushes the importance of imagination. With creativity and Imagination we can make our world a better place.