About

River-Wash #4, Ericka Trinh, Owner of Anh's Hairstylists

River-Wash at Little Mekong is an art activity to help create a sense of place in Little Mekong that attracts interest and invites visitors to see the people behind the storefronts while creating awareness of our interdependence with the Mississippi . The project has four parts:
 

1. River-Wash Activity: Little Mekong district business owners and their staff will be invited to participate in a simple activity to share and honor their experience of Little Mekong including the street construction activity and their hopes for the future. They will be asked to write these answers on objects like watering cans, and with water on the sidewalk. Then as a kind of ritual of healing, we’ll pour the clean water over the words to flow into the storm drain along the street and travel underground to reach the Mississippi River.
   
2. River-Wash Story Documentation: The answers from the River-Wash, and a picture of participants with their name(s) and the name of their business will be put on a poster that will be displayed in their storefront as a way of letting the public know about the people and their stories in this district. The posters will also tell the story of the storm water connection from Little Mekong to the Mississippi, and express how human and river well-being are intertwined. A website will be listed on the poster inviting viewers to learn more about the project story and resources to protect the river.
3. Stenciling Storm Drains: Stencils will be painted (with standard approved FMR/City procedures) along the storm drains in Little Mekong with a message about protecting the river.
4. Project Display: The project display begins at Open Streets on September 15th (a public event where parts of University Avenue, including Little Mekong, are closed for festive activities.) and lasts two months. It consists of the posters in storefronts, the stencils at the storm drains and the supporting material on the website. The stencil painting typically lasts about two years, and the website will be retained as a project reference for at least one year.

River-Wash is a project by Jonee Kulman Brigham of Full Spring Studio, in collaboration with Friends of the Mississippi River, Asian Economic Development Association, and the City of St. Paul Stormwater Stenciling Program. The project is supported by Irrigate.