About the Project:

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Participate in a public art project through the following writing and art-making prompts! Responses will be collected and shared with others as an accompaniment to a permanent sculpture that artist Lelia Byron is creating for the new UW Health Eastpark Medical Center in Madison, Wisconsin, which will specialize in adult cancer care and women's complex care. 

 

Serving as a connecting point between the two wings of the building, the sculpture is a symbol of empathy among strangers who have shared, often difficult, experiences. In the sculpture, four colorful sculptural shapes that take inspiration from textile patterns together form a four-season garden that is active and vibrant even during a long winter. Patients, staff, and visitors at the medical center will be able to walk around a path through The Garden Without Strangers or to look at the sculpture from inside all of the courtyard facing windows. 

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Responses to the prompts can be emailed to gardenwithoutstrangers@gmail.com

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Prompts:

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Activity 1: Create A Peace “Garden”

 

Recall a moment when you experienced happiness or peace. If you could invent a space where you could consistently go back to experience this happiness or tranquility what would that place look like? Remember that your “garden” does not have to include plants and can be made of whatever you imagine. Draw, paint, or write about it!

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Activity 2: Write a Message to a Stranger

 

Think of a time when you were going through a difficult experience. What story or message would you like to share with someone who is going through a similar experience? Draw, paint, or write about it!

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Activity 3: Thinking About Textiles

 

Try to remember some sort of textile that was or is important to you. Where did it come from and how was it made? Is it a piece of clothing, fabric, a blanket, a remnant of lace, or something else? What is the story behind this textile? Draw, paint, or write about it!

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