 VALENTE LIBRARY GARDEN
In conjunction with the Cambridge Street Improvements, Cambridge artist Judy Kensley McKie is collaborating with landscape architects Carol R. Johnson Associates, Inc. to transform what is currently a fenced-in lawn next to the Valente Branch Library into a community-gathering place. The artist's idea of making the garden as natural as possible, with soft organic forms and an "urban wild" planting scheme, will offer a respite from the heavy traffic along Cambridge Street. In line with her well-known functional animal sculptures, McKie will also create bronze benches for the space. Three friendly "Alley Cats" will greet visitors to the garden with an offer to sit down for a while and read a book or chat with a neighbor. The landscape design also offers a space for small community gatherings and library events.
McKie's sculptural furniture has been exhibited in museums internationally, including the American Crafts Museum, New York; Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, Germany; Museum of Applied Arts in Helsinki, Finland; and the Craft and Folk Museum in Los Angeles. In 1990, she had a two-person mid-carrier retrospective with her husband, painter Todd McKie, at the Rose Arts Museum at Brandeis University. Other important distinctions include Tiffany Foundation Award and two-times she has received the National Endowment for the Arts Craftsman's Fellowship.
The project is slated for completion in late
summer, 2004. In the meantime, the Alley Cats reside
within the Valente Library.
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