madison metro mural

Dear Madison Arts Commissioners,

I’m writing to express my full support for Jenie Gao’s proposal for the Percent Arts Program’s Metro Transit Mural project. My name is [[NAME]]. I’m a Madison resident of [[TIME PERIOD]], a [[WHAT DO YOU DO HERE]], and part of the [[SPECIFIC]] community of Madison. Jenie’s proposal really, really resonated with me. I [[ADD IF NECESSARY: don’t]] rely on public transportation in Madison currently, and the design just made me think about how much I enjoyed watching the city and the seasons pass from my seat on the bus when I [[PICK ONE: ride//rode]] it. It’s relaxing and empowering and Jenie really captured that.

I don’t think any of the other finalists measure up to Jenie in artistic design, ethical considerations, community involvement, or economic impact. Artistically, Vito’s doesn’t use the space well and relies on an app that will soon be out of date. Deborah’s is busy and detailed with a subtle color palette that doesn’t stand out much, which will be distracting to drivers. Actual Size Art’s design relies on Where’s Waldo-style chicken spotting, which is liable to cause an accident on an already dangerous street.

Ethically, I’m worried about all of the finalists except for Jenie. Deborah and Actual Size Art’s designs rely on evoking and celebrating a racist, segregated history of transit. I think that whitewashing Madison’s past does a disservice to its citizens, many of whom were and are personally harmed by said racism and all of whom should know better than to romanticize racism and erasure. As an [[PICK ONE: Indigenous//non-Indigenous]] resident of Madison, I take offense to the idea that Madison’s transportation history started in the 1880s, like Deborah’s proposal implies. [[PICK ONE: They//We]] were here and transporting each other across Madison’s rivers, lakes, and land long before settlers ever stepped foot on Ho-Chunk territory. Additionally, Actual Size Art’s design is a slap in the face to bus riders who are forced to wait at bus stops with no protection from the elements, as they use bus shelters to protect a vintage bus. Why protect a keepsake from a racist past but not the people who ride the buses today? Deborah, Vito, and Actual Size Art’s designs all rely heavily on plastic for installation, and require the removal of fully grown trees that provide valuable shade and cooling to a section of East Washington that is mainly concrete. Jenie’s does not.

In terms of community involvement, Jenie’s design is best researched and gets to the heart of what people who ride the bus all have in common in a way that doesn’t rely on surface level community portraits or the whitewashing of an imagined past. Vito’s design doesn’t seem to have had any community input at all. Jenie’s has not only involved the community through the planning process, but will throughout its execution as well, which I think is really important. Because Jenie’s business and many of her community ties remain Madison-local, the money from this project will also stay in Madison’s local economy if Jenie is selected, which can’t be said for Deborah or Vito. It’s also worth noting that Jenie is the only person of color in the finalists, and the only one who centered the BIPOC community of Madison in her proposal. This is an oversight on the part of the other finalists that only serves to further alienate an already marginalized group of people.

I urge you to choose Jenie Gao’s proposal for the mural. Not only does she deserve it, given her history of community engagement and organization and her deep commitment to artistic ethics, but we, Madison as a community, deserve it too. I want to drive past that mural every day and I hope that you do too.

Thank you,

[[NAME]]