Zweig_round-2


On the weekend of June 10th, twenty-one volunteers gathered at Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Plant to assist Janet Zweig with the fabrication of ceramic tile magnets for her artwork, Limited Edition. Brightwater will celebrate its opening on September 24th, when the public will be able to tour the plant and view the artwork. Public Art 4Culture intern Jackie Swett assisted with the work party and gives us this account:


Arriving at the site of the nearly complete Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Plant, I could sense the excitement. After over a decade of work, many of the facility’s landscape elements and public art sites were finally coming together. The work that volunteers did that weekend on Janet Zweig’s artwork, Limited Edition, was part of this culmination.

From my arrival at Brightwater, to the very end of the last day of volunteering, the excitement remained a driving and constant force. Over a period of three days, we fabricated only about one third of the one hundred and fifty thousand magnetic tiles that will be part of the piece, but I don’t think that anyone who volunteered left without a sense of accomplishment and pride. Through the process, each volunteer became part of the whole, joining together to create a team of specialists in ceramic tile magnet production. Everyone found their niche, as we glued many thousands of magnets onto gold ceramic tiles in an assembly line. The way that we came together to help with Janet Zweig’s piece made me realize something about public art. Our efforts and enthusiasm show that public art can have a positive impact on a community, even before it’s completed.

Ben Cohen, Janet Zweig’s studio assistant was always thinking of ways to improve efficiency and boost morale, and we ended up working at peak productivity most of the time.  Still, the amazing thing to me was that we didn’t really need much to keep everyone happy. People brought infectious energy to the group and to every aspect of the process; they were all genuinely proud to be involved. This experience was a great beginning to my involvement with 4Culture, and I would encourage anyone to use 4Culture as a resource to volunteer.


Photo: Pictured (left to right) are Janet Zweig studio Assistant Ben Cohen, Jackie Swett and Kate Johnson