By Adam Blust
One of the centerpieces of the 2023 Sustain Dane Summit was a collaborative art project celebrating the diversity and sustainability of Dane County.
Designed by activist, illustrator and muralist T.L. Luke, the piece is a panoramic landscape that moves from rural to urban, representing the ripple effects of sustainability in our community.
As Luke described it:
“From left to right, we cover food sustainability, sourcing from local agriculture (corn, cranberries, ginseng, and green beans being our four top growers), encouraging solar power and rainwater collection, investing in solar power and keeping our lakes clean, recycling, growing native plant species, shopping at local small businesses, and taking electric transit.”
The piece included lots of empty flower buds, and attendees at the Summit wrote their own sustainability inspirations on paper petals and attached them to the stainless-steel-backed piece with magnets.
“The attendees actively helped grow the garden, which is only possible through collective learning and action,” Luke said.
Sustainability is a thread throughout her business and personal life, Luke said. A lot of her products celebrate sustainable initiatives based in community care and nature, and her comics educate locals on politics and economics which are all necessary to enact progress and thus enact sustainable legislation.
The mural is just the latest example of how Luke has collaborated with local organizations on illustrated projects. Other collaborations have included projects with A Room of One’s Own Bookstore, Madison Public Library Foundation, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Dane Arts, Wisconsin Representative Francesca Hong, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Sustain Dane raffled off the mural as part of the Summit, and the winner was Sustain Dane board member vice president and City of Sun Prairie Chief of Staff, Sandy Xiong.
“I feel the piece really reflected what Sustain Dane stands for: change happens when inspired people take action,” Xiong said. “Anyone can make a difference – as long as we take that first step.”
In a real way the piece represented the Summit, because it was only complete after the collective action of people dedicated to sustainability and positive change.
“I hope viewers take away that we’re all required to make a sustainable community, and our small collective actions have massive impacts on sustainable change,” said Luke.
Sandy Xiong donated the art to Sustain Dane member and office location StartingBlock Madison. Visitors can check out the piece on the third-floor shared co-working space.
