The Madison LakeWay Arts Committee and Madison Arts Commission are accepting artist submissions for The Madison LakeWay project, an environmentally focused plan to redevelop part of Lake Monona.
The Madison LakeWay project will reimagine 1.7 miles of Lake Monona’s shoreline, from Law Park to Olin Park. In collaboration with the city, Madison LakeWay Partners hopes to reconnect downtown to the lake, providing safe access, improve lake quality and recognize the lake’s cultural history.
The project is currently in its first phase and coincides with the reconstruction of John Nolen Drive. Madison LakeWay CEO Jayme Powers said the narrowing of traffic lanes on the road will create more space for future project development.
“We will gain an additional 18 feet of waterfront that allows us to have a separate bike path, separated walking path, a running path and other amenities,” Powers told The Daily Cardinal.
The artwork commission comes as initial designs changed. A previously planned pier shifted to a viewing deck as budget estimates came back higher than expected.
“In order to stay on budget — because we're committed to doing that — we had to scale back one element of the project,” Powers said.
The city chose Denver-based design firm Sasaki to lead the project, with the nonprofit helping to fundraise along with city and county funds.
The city formed the Ad Hoc Madison LakeWay Public Art Selection Committee to select one or multiple artists to contribute to the project. “We don’t know what the [artwork] will be, but we know we want to include it in the whole LakeWay project,” Powers said.
Powers said the committee’s guidelines are inclusive so a variety of proposals from artists, teams and companies can be considered. “Maybe it'll be a light installation or a sound installation or sculpture or painting,” she said. “We have no idea what it will be, but it's an incredible draw for people to come to the Lakeway and see the art.”
The deadline to submit an application is April 16 at 2 p.m. Applicants only need to provide information about their past public art experiences and projects.
Once the design of the artwork is made public, Madison LakeWay Partners will raise funds for its completion.
The completion of Phase 1 is dependent on the John Nolen construction, but Powers said it will be sooner than expected. “If everything stays on the timeline, we think that the Lakeway portion will be done by winter of 2028,” she said.
