Minneapolis - 8/31/2009 - The Jordan Area Community Garden may have been replanted in July, however local residents did not consider the sanctuary complete until they gathered last weekend for the installation of the garden arch. The gate was designed by local youth working with artists from the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center to represent elements indicative of a promising new future.
One of the artists heading the effort explained more, “The words ‘Hope is the promise and opportunity of equality’ that span the top of the gate were drawn from a poem that neighborhood youth wrote in a recent workshop. The bird escaping from a cage was built as homage to the Minnesota-based nonprofit Breaking Free, an organization that provides for many of the children’s families. Five arms were linked in a ring to represent the five young women from the Hennepin County Home School who were participants of the design process. The butterflies adjoined to the arms were included because the girls identified with the image and its potential.” Additional elements included the Minneapolis city skyline and the etching of the word “Hope” that had been translated into several languages.
The dedication ceremony included introductions from the team responsible for the garden’s transformation- TreeTrust, the Jordan Area Community Council, and The Pohlad Family Foundation.
“What a great reason to get involved in your community and shape the future,” explained one area resident in his blog post. “There are future leaders being born every day and we had several among us at the Jordan Area Community Garden.”
The Jordan Area Community Garden is located on the corner of Knox and 26th Avenue North in Minneapolis.