Elsa Noterman & Anders Zanichkowsky

Elsa Noterman and Anders Zanichkowsky are a geographer and printmaker who created a series of “artist” maps responding to racial justice issues in Madison. These large-scale, mixed media works use visual art to represent contemporary and historical data about Madison, revealing alternative visions of the city in terms of race and racial inequity.

Our themes include the disproportionate incarceration of people of color in the Dane County jails; the daily life of people currently experiencing homelessness in Madison; and indigenous land use on the isthmus under the Mound Builder and Ho Chunk tribes, compared with the landscapes constructed through European colonization. These maps will be on display in a rotating exhibition on the first floor of the Central Library during the month of February. The public is invited to come during library hours to see them:

Week 1 (Feb 1 - 7): Effigy Mound Map of Colonized Isthmus

Map illustrating the relation between effigy mounds and current road system.

Week 2 (Feb 8 - 14): Tree Map of Ho-Chunk and Colonized Isthmus

A glimpse through current tree cover to the historic bur oak savanna landscape.

Week 3 (Feb 15 - 20): "Free The 350" Decarceration Map of Madison

This large woodcut map was printed in a public performance about eliminating racism in our criminal justice system.

Week 4 (Feb 21 - 29): "Day in the Life" Homeless Map of Madison

Come see Madison mapped out in the daily paths of people experiencing homelessness as they work, live, and move through the city.

All four maps will be shown together for the library’s March Night Light event on Friday, March 4 from 8pm – 10pm and for the week following.

This project was funded by the Madison Arts Commission BLINK! grant for public art, with the fiscal sponsorship of the Social Justice Center. For more information, visit: http://www.anderszanichkowsky.com/artist-statement/racial-justice-maps-madison