Stoneview Nature Center is a five-acre urban sanctuary designed with a focus on health and the environment. To inspire the values of healthy living, the artists Fallen Fruit created a series of civic artworks: Art Garden Installations, The Stoneview Neighborhood Score and Block Party, which enmesh landscape interventions, permanent installations and a rich series of participatory events meant to engage the nearby communities.
Art Garden Installations are “living sculptures” that feature different species of fruit trees and aim to invite the visitors into an environment that acknowledges the history of the site. Accompanying custom signage emphasizes the symbolic meanings of local fruits designed to intrigue a visitor to discover the traditional histories and myths that surround the area. Integral to Fallen Fruit’s practice is community engagement; the artists organized a series of participatory programs, Salsa and Guacamole Party, Stoneview Fruit Jam, Stoneview Fruit Meditations and Fermentation Station Garden Tour- all involved in celebrating food and sustainability. Workshops activated the Center and its gardens as Fallen Fruit modeled how to use the spaces to bring together community members, visitors and staff. The images and stories collected from these events led to the creation of permanent artworks for the lobby that capture the area’s rich history. The Stoneview Nature Score is an artwork made up of interwoven personal quotes from the residents who live near the Nature Center, and Block Party is a collection of family portraits and historic images of the neighboring Blair Hill community. Both of these artworks are installed on fruit-themed wallpaper created specifically for display in the lobby of the community building. To complement the public tables in the Avocado and Orange Groves, the artists asked Stoneview neighbors to bring surplus flatware and utensils, which were hung from reclaimed steel armatures to form two exterior Community Wind Chimes/ Chandeliers.