Photo: From trash to art - A close up of trash collected from the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers / Thia Xiong, USFWS
“On a cold, wet morning I began my journey with the river. I was new to a group of seasoned environmental stewards. Our mission was to gather debris along the banks of the river. While traveling to our destination, I watched the strange mix of woodland and industry pass by along the banks. I began to imagine what this river, known as ‘misiziibi’ or Great River, to the Anishinaabe, and the Mississippi to us, felt like before the cities filled the horizon.” Jeanette Dickinson Papenfuss is a visual artist with ArtStart, an organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, whose mission is to “inspire artistic creativity and illuminate the connections among people, ideas and the environment through engaging artists, children, families, and communities in quality arts education experiences.”
As Twin Cities Urban Waters Project’s selected artist, Jeanette envisioned an art piece that would not only narrate the story of our Mississippi River, but also educate and advocate for its protection. The final product, River Prism, towers over onlookers with panels that were put together using trash collected from the river, while its prism shape provides three unique perspectives into the life of this great being.
The first side is a map illustrating the Mississippi River from its headwaters in Itasca to its final destination at the Gulf of Mexico. This map emphasizes the river’s journey, its countless tributaries, and how these collective waters, and ultimately the trash that ends up in them, travel to our greater oceans. On the second side, the prism displays some of the migratory birds that utilize the Mississippi Flyway. The Mississippi is one of four major flyways used by nearly half of the migratory bird species and forty percent of waterfowl in North America. Imagery on the third side was inspired by the Native American name for North America, Turtle Island, with its top panel focusing on Pike Island, otherwise known as Wita Tanka by the Dakota. This location is the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, or Bdote, the center of the universe and place of origin for Dakota people.
River Prism expresses the river’s essential role in our lives and those of our communities. This is an artwork that provides the river a voice, imposing the question, “How important am I the river, the world wide water systems, and ultimately the wellbeing of all that depend on my health, including yourself?” Jeanette encourages viewers to consider the unique position Minnesotans are in, living at the headwaters. She conveys that “we set the standards for the rest of the United States, Turtle Island, for protecting and cherishing, not only our watersheds, but ultimately our planet.”
The sculpture was made possible through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program. Its inception occurred over the course of eighteen months, with thorough planning phases involving five core partners: ArtStart; Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge; Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends; Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. With the help of these organizing partners, 400 community volunteers, 200 youth and young adults, and 10 corporate partners, 6 acres of land were improved by removing buckthorn and woody invasive species, 4,500 native plugs were planted, 3.2 miles of riparian restoration occurred, and 4.5 tons of trash were removed from river wetlands.
The sculpture was revealed to volunteers, staff, and partners in November 2019 at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge’s Bloomington Education and Visitor Center, where it currently remains for viewing.
