In October 2025, four finalists were selected to propose public art designs for the forthcoming Imagination Center at Reindahl Park. The finalists, chosen by the Madison Arts Commission, were selected from a pool of 32 applicants for their work’s reflection of the Reindahl Park area’s history, according to The City of Madison’s announcement.
The Imagination Center is an upcoming multifunctional, indoor-outdoor library, parks pavilion and community space undergoing construction in Reindahl Park. The Imagination Center will be the first ever library facility within a Madison park, according to the Madison Public Library.
Guided in the work, principles and research of the Madison Public Library, it was understood that public art would be a part of this new Imagination Center, according to Community and Cultural Resources Planner for the City of Madison Meri Rose Ekberg.
“We knew from the very beginning that we wanted something that was going to connect to the community,” Ekberg said. “In the call for artists, one of the requirements was that the artwork celebrated the local community history.”
The four finalists include Cooke-Sasseville, Nate Page, Sujin Lim and the group of Gabriela Marvan, Flor Molina and Ryan Rothweiler. Each artist approached the project by looking critically at the makeup of local communities, according to Ekberg.
“All these artists had strong experience creating site-specific pieces that were relevant to the community and working in outdoor sculpture,” Ekberg said. “That was really important because we had identified early on that we wanted something integrated to the park.”
For example, one finalist Nate Page researched different immigrant communities that make up local neighborhoods near Reindahl Park. Page used colors from the flags of these local communities in his piece The Passage of Being, drawing a connection between the rich local history and the new Imagination Center, according to Ekberg.
The area of Reindahl Park has significant diversity and history, but residents note it lacks overall identity, according to the City of Madison. The eventual public art is intended to spark joy and bring the greater community of Reindahl Park together in shared history, Ekberg said.
“We really wanted visitors to feel joy, and really feel inspired and think critically,” Ekberg said. “This is a site of learning, it’s also a site of exploration being integrated into a park.”
The City of Madison hopes to announce the winner later this spring after a final vote by the arts commission. The project will then be reviewed by the Madison Common Council, and then will be installed shortly prior to the Imagination Center’s opening in September, according to Ekberg.
