FUTURES NORTH / NEWS UPDATES

Listen to Molly Reichert and John Kim discuss the ongoing Phase Change project on MPR News with correspondent Paul Huttner. 

On January 27, 2018, Futures North and the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington, Minnesota will present Phase Two, a public artwork that creatively re-presents the effects of climate change with an engaging spatial construction of melting ice. Designed by public art collaborative Futures North, the ephemeral installation will consist of ice harvested from Wood Duck Pond at the Richardson Nature Center during their annual Ice Harvesting Day. This ice will face a lattice of programmable infra-red lamps that will fluctuate according to data derived from climate change research. The heat produced by the lights will correspond to historical and projected data and melt the sculpture according to three different scenarios: a pre-industrial simulation that depicts climatic conditions as if the industrial era never happened; the present day scenario; and the “worst case” scenario that will demonstrate the effects of the most extreme climate change forecasts.

The event runs from 11am-3pm. More info at this link.

An earlier version of Phase Two was presented at Northern Spark 2016 (as Phase Change) and was supported by Northern Lights.mn and the McKnight Foundation.

Phase Change Recognized by Americans for the Arts.

We are thrilled to announce that our project Phase Change has been selected as the winner in the Art/Interaction category of the 2016 SXSW Eco Place By Design competition. The competition celebrates innovative design work that transforms our everyday surroundings and creates positive social and environmental impact. Futures North partner Molly Reichert presented the project to the competition jury this week at the SXSW Eco conference in Austin, and the winners were announced last night at the conference award ceremony. 

Many thanks to Northern Lights.mn and the McKnight Foundation for making Phase Change possible, and to Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy for participating in the June installation and expanding the project’s educational impact.

Our new project, Phase Change, will debut at this year’s Northern Spark arts festival on June 11, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Phase Change creatively re-presents the effects of climate change through an engaging and dynamic spatial construction of melting ice. The ephemeral installation consists of 12,000 pounds of ice harvested from Lake Calhoun (Dakota name "Bde Maka Ska") in March 2016 and stored passively from March-June. This sculptural ice form faces a lattice of infra-red lamps that are programmed to fluctuate based on data derived from climate change research. The heat produced by the lights corresponds to historical and projected climate change data and melts the sculpture according to three different climate change scenarios: a pre-industrial simulation that depicts climatic conditions as if the industrial era never happened; the present day scenario; and the “worst case” scenario that demonstrates the effects of the most extreme climate change forecasts.

Futures North has partnered with youth from Yea! MN and educators from Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy to guide visitors in conversation about the conditions that threaten to overcome us. Visitors are invited to sit and observe the ‘phase change’ of ice melting to water and consider what our collective future holds.

Meander, the permanent public artwork commissioned for CHS Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, opens to the public on Thursday, June 4. The artwork anchors the west entrance of the ballpark along Broadway in Lowertown St. Paul. The artwork is inspired by the Mississippi River, which runs several blocks away, and consists of fifteen sculptural pillars that evoke the river's geometry and geography. LED lights embedded in the top of each pillar broadcast information about the river through a series of dynamic animations that communicate data related to water temperature, water quality, and wind speed along the river's length.

Futures North partners Daniel Dean, John Kim and Molly Reichert are a part of a number of projects in this year's Northern Spark, an all night art event in Minneapolis on Saturday, June 14:

TönöSauna - Futures North partners Molly Reichert, John Kim, and Daniel Dean in collaboration with John Moore, Emily Stover, Lara Avery, Matt Barthalemy, and Bill Lindeke. Sponsored by the American Swedish Institute.

Hotel Hotel - Futures North partner Daniel Dean with Kate Casanova and Ben Moren.

POSTography - Futures North partner Molly Reichert in collaboration with a number of Twin Cities based architects and designers.

We are pleased to announce that Meander, one of two Futures North proposals for the Lowertown Ballpark public art project, has been selected by the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department and the Lowertown Ballpark project team for the new ballpark's west plaza. 

Meander consists of 28 illuminated pillars that take their form from the historical geometry and bathymetry of the upper Mississippi River. Stay tuned to the project journal for updates as we move forward with fabrication and installation of the artwork.