Next Question is inviting residents of the city to tell them the unique sites that make Poughkeepsie special. Their goal is to collect this information and make a Guide to Poughkeepsie that will be published in the Spring of 2012.  The artists will be working with the public the first weekend of October as a part of the free Our Hudson events.  Residents can also participate online at the following address – http://www.nextquestion.org/guide/.

Next Question is a collaboration between artists Emily Blair and Michelle Illuminato. They have worked together since 1994, sometimes along with artist Phuong Nguyen. They engage the public directly in their work, inviting people to participate in its development and to interact with the finished piece. Many of their projects have investigated the social aspects of urban space, with an emphasis on including multiple voices. Purposefully selecting broad topics, they often let others guide the course of the conversation based on their own interpretations of the project. The group’s work has been exhibited internationally, this being their first visit to Poughkeepsie.

The riders split up into groups and helped with various projects created by Middle Main, HRH, and PAUSE. Two murals were painted, trash picked up, Fallkill Creek dredged for trash, storm drains marked, and seating/platforms built and the Metropolitan Block/535 Main cleaned up. For video footage of the murals, check out earlier posts in our blog. More video will be up soon, so stay tuned!

The day started out bright and early at 8am, with many enthusiastic cyclists, and members of the Poughkeespsie community. The group that was with PAUSE helped build three large platforms that will serve as seating when not in use, and can be placed together to make a performance stage. After going through many screws, batteries, and lots of sweat, the team took a break for lunch at the Public Service Building – local businesses provided lunches for the day.

After lunch, PAUSE received fill dirt that had been generously donated by Red Wing Sand & Gravel. As it is not yet growing season, we only planted basic grass seed but are planning to add more grass come September and are scheming with ideas for a community garden/park space. We do have a vision that we would like to see completed!

Throughout the day, we were approached by many people that were just walking by and wanted to know what we were doing. Some asked what they could do to get involved, and others were appreciative of the positive energy being brought into the area. Everyone was curious. A major goal of PAUSE is to get the community involved with what we are doing; to gain their trust, interest, and support. The more people we can reach out to the more we hope to get people interested in their home city of Poughkeepsie, and who want to see change happen and are willing to get active to achieve it.

The day was long and hot, but definitely worth it. You could tell that everyone was proud of their hard work! It is always amazing to see how just something so little as picking up trash can instantly transform a place into something brighter, more comfortable and a place that you don’t mind hanging out at. I can imagine what Metropolitan Block and Poughkeepsie will look like when the transformations really begin to pick up!