Bridging Shenigans July 2011 (slideshow by Bob Albee)

It started with a dream about this raggedy bridge becoming a vibrant green space. Instead of a dangerous portal it was a gathering place full of happy people. I looked into the history & discovered 99 year old neighbor Carl Peterson and his friends had lobbied the state until the bridge was built 40 years ago. At the time, it reconnected neighbors separated and wounded by the installation of 35W. Since then, it's become crime-ridden and there are plans to demolish it soon. Early 2011 saw the launch of Bridging Minneapolis - The Phillips Project. In addition to murals, storytelling and a festival, we gather monthly on the bridge for Bridging Shenanigans. Together with friends and neighbor kids, we create a program and invite spontaneous music and performance.

In our Bridging Shenanigans on July of 2011, we invited Carl Peterson and the kids wrote original poetry and performed an original play telling Carl's story, "Build Us a Bridge!". (Simone Speers transformed the kids into their characters with vibrant face paint.)

The play opens with the king saying, "I will build a bridge! Because cars are more important than people". One by one, his representative tells the people they have to move. "But this is my grandmother's house!". "I don't care!". "But this is my business!". "Go!". The people get together and hatch a plan. Repeatedly, they approach the king's representative, asking for a bridge. The answer is always "no". Then they holler in unison, "BUILD US A BRIDGE!". The king finally relents. The people win and Carl's bridge is built.

Then the Blue Lady (www.blueladynyc.com) created sand mandalas as Eartha played percussion. The mandalas began with an open hand and included a Mexican flower and a Somali flower. When we got to the middle of the bridge, Carl said, "This would be a great place for a cozy bed." So Blue Lady made him one. When he saw it he jokingly said, "it's ok but where's the window?". So Blue Lady made him a window too!

As we made our way from mandala to mandala, Blue Lady laid a red glittery trail of sand (representing our sacred connection to each other) as we sang for each other in English, Portugese, Spanish, Lingala, Somali and Swahili. Carl was such a trooper! We thought he must be getting tired, walking and standing in the sun so we told him he could go home if he was tired. His response, "What? You're not done yet are you? I'm not going home yet!".

At the end of the bridge, Blue Lady drew another open hand, completing the connection with the other side of the bridge. We started writing a new song about getting together on the bridge and the brilliant Patrick Nolan shared a poem he wrote during our shenanigans. It perfectly encapsulates everything we're doing. http://www.youtube.com/user/patricknolan07

The slideshow begins with images of the lonely bridge and you'll see it come alive with our shenanigans. You'll also see the kids' blueprint and Blue Lady's blueprint for the mandala images.

The song, Happy Apple, is an original composition written and performed by Dallas Johnson and the photos are by Jean Ockuley and Dallas.

For more info on our project, check out www.bridgingminneapolis.com

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• bridging minneapolis
• shenanigans
• placemaking
• phillips west
• minneapolis
• 24th St bridge