Soon, a memorial honoring veterans will have a spot on the south end of
Sheridan Memorial Park in Northeast Minneapolis, which has views of the Mississippi River.
The $400,000 public art installation has been in the works for five years, according to Deborah Bartels, a project manager from the Park Board
.
Local veterans collaborated with the
Sheridan Neighborhood Organization (SNO) to enhance the new park, which eventually will hook up with the regional trail system along the river, with various amenities, including picnic areas, playgrounds, and more, she says.
University of Minnesota designers came up with a concept for the site. The plan for the memorial was presented at a Feb. 21 open house at Park Board headquarters. Soon, the board will select an artist for the sculpture through a competitive application process.
A sculpture that speaks to “memorial and sacrifice” will go into the middle of a circular plaza, the Park Board’s website states.
Surrounding the sculpture will be vertical markers that speak to the nine conflicts that Minnesotans have fought in. They’ll give some background on the wars, including personal anecdotes.
An “empty” marker will “represent the precarious nature of peace,” according to Park Board information.
All along the way will be paths, benches, and green space; trees will ring the outer edge.
As for the sculpture, “We’d like to see what people come up with,” says Bartels. “We don’t want it to be representational.” The idea is to do something that’s “contemplative in nature,” she says.
Site work will wrap up by Veterans Day this year, while the main sculpture will be finished in time for Memorial Day in 2013.
Source: Deborah Bartels, project manager, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
Writer: Anna Pratt