Songbird Art Installed in Three Parks This Week

The City of Cedar Rapids, in cooperation with University of Iowa Arts Share Program, will showcase temporary art at Ellis, Bever, and Manhattan Parks over the next several weeks. The installation of art, by artist Shea Hembrey, is scheduled to take place between May 8 and 10, weather permitting. The artist will scrape a clean circle at each location and paint it with natural pigments. The art will be observable for two to three weeks, depending on rainfall. Once all of the pigment dissolves, the artist will plant trees at each location.

Hembrey seeks to draw attention to sharp declines in North American songbird populations in recent decades, largely due to habitat loss. He does this by using natural pigments to create patterns representative of specific bird plumage. These powdered pigments absorb into the soil or wash away before the artist plants trees that are vital to the corresponding bird species. The project is a new take on the tradition of landscape painting in that it tangibly alters the landscape rather than just depict imagery of the land. Physically, painting has traditionally been made from pigments pulled from the earth and in this instance, pigments are given back into the soil to become part of the landscape.

“We are excited to provide this artwork in parks where people have easy access to see it. This project is unique because it aligns with so many City goals, including our ReLeaf Cedar Rapids Plan, Community Climate Action Plan, and Public Art Plan. We encourage people to see all three exhibits,” said Stephanie Schrader, Community Services Coordinator for the City of Cedar Rapids.

Shea Hembrey is the 2023-24 Grant Wood Fellow in Painting & Drawing at the University of Iowa. His nine years of studying art at university include a year spent studying Māori art in New Zealand and an M.F.A. from Cornell University. Further explore his work online through his website, sheahembrey.com, and through coverage on NPR, PBS, in a New York Times Magazine profile, and a popular TED talk.