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Grantee: Hannah Pomante, Katie Smith, & Melissa Jones

Project Title: Bird Nest Installation – A Moveable and Interactive Public Arts Project
Year awarded: 2019, Round 2

The three artists are all 2019 graduates from Whitworth arts programs and are collaborating to create and share the work with Spokane’s youth.

The goal of the Bird Nest Installation is to provide a place of escape for Spokane’s Youth by translating elements of nature into an eco-friendly public art installation. They will be constructing a moveable human-sized bird nest that offers the children of Spokane a safe hideaway place that is supportive of their learning and creative endeavors. It’s a grounded installation that will be transported throughout the area, finding temporary homes in elementary classrooms and libraries. For the time that it resides at each location, the children there can claim it as their own, using it as a place of refuge. They can read, play, create, or simply get away. No matter its use, it is a place for them.

The SAGA grant will be used to fund the construction and transportation of the nest, and a small stipend for the artists’ work. Construction of the project will be completed in October/November 2019. Upon completion, the Bird Nest will be exhibited the remainder of the school year. Three locations have already been identified, Nine Mile Elementary, Millwood Kindergarten Center, and Shiloh Hills Elementary. Additional locations are being pursued.