CEZ's local ecology at work

"Bridging plants, people, and ideas" is the mission of Landbridge Ecological, the company that anchors the Universe Buildings at Vandalia and University. But in this case, let's add art to that lineup.

This fall, the otherworldly sculpture Alien Technology II found its new home outside Landbridge's entrance at 670 Vandalia. Originally commissioned by CEZ-based Mizna, the Arab American arts nonprofit, it's the work of Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri: a pearlescent sculpture that echoes the shape of an industrial oil-drilling bit. Perhaps it's poetic justice that it now stands outside the entrance at Landbridge, whose projects harness the regenerative powers of nature (as the fossil-fuel era passes). Photo by Amanda Henderson

Landbridge will install native prairie plants around the sculpture, likely this spring, as part of its redesign of its front entry. That landscape design is being planned by two staff members now in the Master Water Stewards program at Capitol Region Watershed District. Replacing impervious pavement with water-filtering landscape will reduce runoff, help improve groundwater quality, and add beauty to the entrance. Watch this space to see it take shape!

You may have also wondered about the billboard art at that corner, Beirut artist Read Yassin's Self-Portrait with Foreign Fruits and Vegetables. (Others have too: see comments in the Pioneer Press and City Pages.) Mizna was the intermediary for that piece too, and for Fadlabi's new mural "The Air At Night" at Wycliff. To learn more about all three artists, visit the current exhibit "History Is Not Here: Art and the Arab Imaginary" at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in downtown St. Paul through January 5. Another Mizna collaboration opens Dec. 7 at the SooVAC gallery: see Events, below.

These partnerships remind us that community multiplies our powers! And proximity helps; the Zone is rich in collaborators. Leasable space is available in the Universe Buildings, adjacent to Landbridge Ecological, with a variety of maker and office spaces.