Earth Press Project: Witness

EARTH PRESS PROJECT: WITNESS 

MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS 

CURATED BY THE UMBRELLA ARTS CENTER

CREATED BY NANCY WINSHIP MILLIKEN STUDIO

SEPTEMBER 1 - NOVEMBER 1, 2019

On view at the Minute Man Visitor Center at 250 N Great Road, Lincoln, MA

PROJECT OVERVIEW | PROCESS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | EARTH PRESS PROJECT WORD CLOUD | EARTH PRESS PROJECT WORDS (AUDIO) | SUBMIT A WORD TO THE PROJECT | SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK | WITNESS RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS 

About the Project

The Earth Press Project: Witness is a publicly engaged environmental project using an earth-based printing technique to inscribe words collected from communities across America in response to the question, "What change would you like to witness on this earth?"

Word submissions are imprinted in adobe block and presented spilling out of a wooden structure located at the Minute Man Visitor Center, referencing the historic witness houses in Minute Man National Historical Park. The word ‘witness’ can hold many meanings today as it did during the time of the Revolutionary War. In 1775, the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony witnessed a revolution that reverberated around the world. As in the time of the American Revolution, there is today a world of possibilities before us. It all begins with a thought and a word.

The battlefields, structures, and land in the park were witness to the American revolutionary spirit and are key to informing this project's concept. In addition to printing acting as the lifeblood of engaging the development of the revolution, The Wayside, now a part of the park, witnessed literary heritage develop. The statement, "I like good strong words that mean something," by The Wayside's famous inhabitant, Louisa May Alcott, became the starting germ of the idea for the Earth Press Project.

Earth and words—two disparate and common elements. One is heavy, dense, fluid and solid. The other ethereal, weightless and yet weighted in its gravitas. Combine them and the earth is branded, printed with a human thought. Originally an environmental project, Earth Press Project: Witness quickly became socially engaged art. We witnessed the events in the news each day, mirrored in the incoming words for change. 

The resulting installation is a collaboration with studio Interns Diane Klement, Michael Weiss, Emily Kiernan, Meryl Braconnier, Brooke van Buiten and Studio Managers Eleanor Reagan and Carley Zarzeka. Many thanks also to Dirt Tech in Vermont for their donation of clay and sand.

Ongoing submissions throughout the exhibition will be displayed online and at The Umbrella Arts Center. In addition to submitting a one-word response online or on-site at The Visitor Center, the public is invited to explore the physical installation at the Park, meet the artists and collaborators, participate in hands-on activities, and engage in conversation around the themes explored in the work. Learn more about the artists and collaborators, the making of this work and view submitted words here.

A Partnership for Art-in-the-Park

Earth Press Project: Witness brings the land, history and resources of the Minute Man National Historical Park together with the artists and expertise of The Umbrella Arts Center, and has co-evolved to include additional regional partners such as Reflex Letterpress (MA), Building Heritage (VT), and Terra Collaborative (VT). As a pilot Artist-in-Residence program, Witness initiates art that engages the community in the Park. Using art to carry stories and bridge the past with the future, these imprinted words intend to "reflect participants' individual and collective hopes for our shared future."

Read more about the collaboration in the media release, Minute Man National Historical Park Launches Artist-in-Residence Program.

Related Public Programs

• Artist Meet & Greet and Demonstration with Nancy Winship Milliken
  Sunday, September 22, 10:30am-1:30pm
  @ the installation next to Minute Man Visitor Center
• Witness Panel Discussion
  Monday, October 21, 7:00-8:30pm
  @ The Umbrella Main Stage Theatre
• 2019 Art Ramble: Witnessing Change
  Sunday, September 1 - Sunday, November 1, 2019
  @ Fairyland Pond, Hapgood-Wright Town Forest, Concord

All public programs are free and open to the public.

Share your experience!

• Talk to a Park Ranger at the Visitor Center or fill out this feedback form online.
• Tag us on your social media: @theumbrellaarts @minutemannhps @earthpressproject
• Use Hashtags: #ArtsinParks #FindYourPark #DiscoverYourArts #EarthPressProject