Located in the Future Museum’s outdoor Plaza will be an Indigenous art installation titled The Gathering Place, designed and created by artist Mark Fischer of the Oneida Nation. The piece will serve as a space to welcome visitors and to honor the rich cultural heritage of Native American tribes in Wisconsin. The Gathering Place will be free and open to the public year-round.
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About the Art Installation
The artwork takes inspiration from aspen trees, organisms which Fischer says speak with each other, much like humans, through their root systems. Fischer will create a group of aspen trees made of copper to represent Wisconsin’s First Nations. The trees will form a circular shape with their branches coming together in the shape of a dome, mimicking the support poles seen in a traditional Great Lakes home. Each of the poles will be adorned with welded-on, cultural patterns affiliated with each tribe of Wisconsin.
The base of the installation will also honor Indigenous symbolism and knowledge while creating an intentional space for gathering. There will be 13 large stones arranged on the ground to represent the 13 squares, called scutes, found on every turtle shell. Many Indigenous people consider a turtle’s shell to be a representation of the lunar calendar, which has 13 full moons in a year. Turtles also have 28 tiny square shells–the same number of days between each full moon–around the perimeter of their shell. Twenty-eight smaller stones will be placed around the structure’s outer edge, serving as a place for children to sit for storytelling and learning.
About the Artist
The sculpture is designed and will be created by Germantown resident and Indigenous artist Mark Fischer, of the Oneida Nation. Originally from Milwaukee, Fischer learned about welding copper from his grandfather. He has worked as a full-time artist for the past 30 years, previously working on projects with the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, Oneida Nation Museum, UW-Madison, the Smithsonian Museum of Contemporary Native American Art and Milwaukee’s Indian Community School, where he served as president for three years.
“I am incredibly proud to be trusted with creating such a meaningful piece of art for the Future Museum,” said Fischer. “I feel a special connection to this land and am truly honored to create an iconic piece of art for this centuries-old gathering place to celebrate Native cultures, honor our natural world and create a highly interactive environment for visitors.”
To view Fischer’s other projects, click here.