Meet the Artists behind ‘Paint the Town in Paper' this Wednesday
Don't miss the last chance to learn about a unique art effort locally and in person on Wednesday. Join the Madison Arts Commission (MAC) 12 p.m., Aug. 26, 2027, at the City of Madison Parks Division Lakeside Offices.
The artists will go over their highlights during their residency in a lunchtime presentation in the boardroom at the City of Madison Parks Division Lakeside Offices, located at 330 E Lakeside Street. The public is welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
‘Paint the Town in Paper' is an interactive art-making and public art effort where the artists traveled to 11 Madison Parks over the summer, thanks to a generous grant from the Evjue Foundation. MAC invited artist collective Leilani Chun and Evan Johnson to spend an entire month in Madison creating community-based, temporary public art, as part of their project, "Paint the Town in Paper."
For the month of August, Chun and Johnson created site-specific temporary public artwork at 11 Madison Parks that hosted Parks Alive events. The artists arrived August 1 and began their Parks Alive residency on August 3 at Elver Park. Once they settled into the rhythm of their tour, they used their remaining time to connect with Madison's robust arts community, especially printmakers and papermakers, through studio visits, workshops, teaching, learning, and networking opportunities.
Debra Alleyne, the Parks Alive Coordinator, worked closely with colleagues in the parks department to identify suitable trees as well as to ensure the project is safe and sustainable for Madison's beautiful parks. The goal of this project at Parks Alive is to help deepen the connection among communities and their environment as well as bring more attention and appreciation of our beautiful urban canopy.
Parks Alive's primary focus is on building strong neighborhoods. We know that the process of making something together is a bonding experience. Being able to offer an experience like this during the month dedicated to arts and culture enhances our mission and offers a new dimension to residents spending time in the park.
– Debra Alleyne, Parks Alive Coordinator
For us, this project has become a practice of creating peaceful connections between the community and the ecosystems within the city. We hope this project provides a space for others to find their own peace and healing, embrace creativity, and forge strong connections. The artworks will be created by hand in collaboration with the community, and stand as a representation of these values. We are excited to meet and work with everyone in the beautiful parks of Madison!
– Evan Johnson & Leilani Chun
About the Project
"Leilani Chun is a Multimedia artist, costumer, and tailor, and Evan Johnson is a hand papermaker, and together they use their knowledge of textiles to explore the role of art practice in ecological life cycles. They create site-specific work that responds to existing natural forms and seeks to remind viewers of their part in an interdependent ecosystem in the midst of an urban environment.
Evan and Leilani call viewers to consider their role in stewardship of the ecosystems they live in by inviting interest in the natural forms highlighted by their augmentation. They use an intuitive drawing practice via application of cellulose paper pulp to trees and other landscape elements in public spaces.
Line and mark making combine with elements of sculpture as topographical lines and lichen-like forms begin to grow on the surfaces. They engaged with the community by inviting passersby to apply pulp to trees and take pride in having contributed to public art in their city.
Physically the artwork mimics the ephemerality of the seasons: the work will appear suddenly, harden with the remarkable strength of hydrogen bonding present in papermaking, and safely return to the earth when it is ready to be washed away after 6 months or more." – From the Artist's Proposal