Community Arts

We achieved the goal of commissioning 4 artists to make inventive new works for the collection. St Paul artist Aaron Johnson-Ortiz made a bilingual book exploring exile, solidarity, and oblivion through water, light, and walking. Minneapolis-based artist Caitlin Warner made a silk-screened, reversible book that juxtaposed fish in water with stars in the sky. Toy, game and graphic designer Tou Yia Xiong made a waterproof book sewn with fishing line illustrating animals and their names in English and White Hmong. Seattle-based artist Martine Workman create a trio of books in honor of Minnesota’s patron musical saint Prince. An open call promoted via Facebook, Floating Library website, email and to 68 list-serves nationally and internationally yielded 75 submissions. 60 of these were selected for inclusion on the raft (50 was the goal). Many of the artists responded enthusiastically to the themes of water, immigration, St Paul history and climate change that we put forward as optional in the call. We received many submissions around the theme of water, including a hand-sewn book made to float and a book made to dissolve in the water after being read aloud each day. We turned this into a daily performance where a Floating Librarian on shift 1 would read the poetry out loud and ceremonially toss the page into the water to biodegrade. These inventive forms challenge and expand the definition of a “book” -- one of our artistic goals. The operations of the Open Call were much better organized this year thanks to the participation of the Floating Library’s Co-Captain and Open Call Organizer who completed efficient communications with the artists. We asked for a limited number of copies to reduce the need to mail extra copies back to artists. We also added a book-making workshop component in partnership with the East Side Freedom Library in the neighborhood of Lake Phalen. Commissioned artist Johnson-Ortiz led a free, hands-on workshop for people to make books about their heritage and family history using simple tools and the immigration history resources at East Side Freedom Library. 10 people ages 3-70 attended. Areas for improvement: A less successful component was soliciting books in languages other than English through the Open Call. Two of the commissioned books were bilingual, but our network is slow to grow in bilingual communities. With the new relationships forged with new artists this year, however, this is changing. If/when the Floating Library floats again I would repeat many of these artistic strategies (commissioning, open call) and would give more time to the workshop component. Simple bookmaking is incredibly accessible -- it can be taught in an afternoon. People love to tell their stories and the Floating Library is a good platform for the dissemination of stories not found in popular media. I would continue working with the commissioned artists to further network to bilingual book artists, and hold more workshops in communities where English is not the first language. Intended communities: Artists: 64 artists were successfully presented; 60 through the open call and 4 commissioned. Artists express gratitude and excitement for being in the project. Several returning artists made new work for the Open Call. Volunteers: 35 volunteers completed 64 shifts in 3 hour increments on the Library’s 7 open days (1 day was rained out). 25 of them attended Volunteer Orientation at Phalen’s Lakeside Activities Center to learn about the project get to know each other. About 1/3 of the volunteers returned from previous years, with 2/3rds new participation. Patrons: The intended patrons as described in the grant include St Paul residents new to Lake Phalen; metro area residents new to St Paul, and boaters already on the water. The Library’s playful survey tool asked patrons to identify whether they usually spend time on water and where the live, among other questions. Of 96 collected surveys, we know: 14% of visitors were surprised to find the Floating Library on the water; 82% of visitors were not surprised, indicating they came for the project; 7% did not respond. 42% live in Minneapolis, 28% live in St Paul. 28% rarely go boating, 40% sometimes go boating, 28% often go boating. Lake Phalen was listed only 16 times of 96 surveys in response to a fill-in-the-blank asking “Most-visited Twin Cities Lakes and Rivers.” These stats indicate that the project did succeed in drawing people to Lake Phalen for the first time, and in drawing Minneapolis residents to Lake Phalen. The Mississippi River, Lake Calhoun and Como Lake were the top most frequently visited lakes as indicated in the question above. Populations benefitting: The higher percentage of Minneapolis residents than St Paul residents was slightly surprising, though in anecdotal conversations many people said they had attended the project in Minneapolis previously. Fewer patrons than expected were already on the lake in boats. Overall we found Lake Phalen to be a less-used body of water. Upon observation, we saw that many people use the lake, but from its edges. Getting people to the lake is different than getting people on the water, as it turns out. Outreach: The community partnerships that proved most successful were Saint Paul Parks and Recreation and East Side Freedom Library. Multiple attempts to speak with other civic and arts groups on St Paul’s East Side were unsuccessful. We learned that focusing on a deeper relationship with 1 or 2 partners is a better use of time than trying to work broadly with many. The outreach efforts provided by Parks and Rec were minimal, unfortunately. Openness and Accessibility: The Floating Library’s placement in a public park with amenities of ample parking, inexpensive boat rental (further subsidized by the Floating Library) and the location of the Library within easy paddling distance from the beach contributed to a relative ease in reaching the project for those able to paddle a boat. Signage at the boat rental announced discounted rates. 370 people boated to the Floating Library; 35 volunteers participated; 250 boat rentals through the City of St Paul, half of which were subsidized. Survey data states a strong positive experience among patrons. “Delightful” “fun” and “relaxing” were the most common words. 64 artists were presented. We deepened relationships with the commissioned artists, including 2 artists new to the Floating Library network.