Common Ground: The Project

I came here with an empty but open mind. Knowing that I will have to collaborate on a public art project with whomever was interested in participating, whether they were artists or not. I was often asked what the project was or what form it would take and I always answered, "I don't know". And I really did not know. The project would come out of the people that were in the room and the surrounding community. The issues addressed in the ideas that the artists brought forth would evolve into a project along with the things I heard when I spoke to the people on the streets, or the things I saw when I took a stroll around the block. All those elements came together to make up the public art project titled Common Ground.

Common Grounds will consist of small plaques which will be placed around St. Croix. These plaques will create an intimate relationship between the viewer and the information on the plaque like having a one-on-one conversation. Not unlike the plaques that one might see on buildings of historic significance. However, our plaques will be different. They are about highlighting the hopes and dreams, history and experiences, loves and disappointments, trials and tribulations of individual in relation to a place. That place can be anywhere; from a building to a street corner, under a tree or a favorite bench or even the island in general. This is about giving the individual a voice, sharing some unknow or hidden history or highlighting events of significance that others might not be aware of. The plaques can be text or photography or a combination of both, drawings or hand written messages. Old folks and young ones, Blacks, Whites, locals and expats this is for everyone. Crucians are full of interesting stories. This project is about these stories and the people who tell them.