Friends,
Moving Pillsbury Forward is pleased to announce a second date for our “Visitors” at the Pillsbury Mill Site. Saturday (Nov. 18th) from 5:30 to 8:00pm. Our artists and volunteer team have had many requests for another opportunity to bring friends and family. This one will certainly be the last of the season…so please, mark your calendar, bring your camera, flashlight, heavy shoes or boots, and warm clothing. Admission is free. Entrance is at the south dock at the corner of 16th St. and Phillips Ave.
The project, facilitated and sponsored by Moving Pillsbury Forward, focuses on the work of Minneapolis artists Shock and Static, who were encountered exploring the site at night in September. Moving Pillsbury Forward staff were familiar with their work (made during previous visits), and instead of ushering the artists off the property, they were invited to return to create new work under more ideal conditions. The result is a massive site-specific work, expressed in spray paint and found objects and exploring themes pertinent to the rise and fall of the Pillsbury factory and surrounding community during the 20th century. The installation also includes the work of other graffiti artists and local sculptors.
The project is not only a first for Springfield, but a unique one in the Midwest, representing rare cooperation between landowners, brownfield clean-up objectives, and “street artists”. Curator Robert Mazrim has for the last six months focused on the “aesthetic salvage and recycling” of the artistic potential of the ruined factory, before its scheduled demolition in the coming 18 months.
Access to the installation will be limited. Visitors will be invited to explore the space, illuminated by improvised lighting, between 5:30 and 8:00 PM. The building has no heat, and due to the conditions of the site, heavy duty footwear and other appropriate clothing is recommended.
“Visitors” provides yet another unique opportunity to explore and reconsider the remains of an important piece of Springfield history, and this time, to get a close-up view of an art form that is often fleeting and inaccessible to most residents of the community.
Chris / Polly / Tony
View photos from the November 9 event here…
PS We have also had requests for more guided historical tours. Weather permitting, those are now scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2 at Noon and 2:00 pm.