MITCHELVILLE HERITAGE INTERPRETIVE TRAIL
DESIGN BRIEF
This call for design proposals is an open invitation for public participation in the Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park (HMFP) opportunity to feature installation art intended to elevate a uniquely significant landscape.
The current ground plane path in Mitchelville is soft and sandy with a thin layer of leaf litter. Vegetative cover varies by site, but common species in the park include live oak, laurel oak, water oak, dwarf palmetto, wax myrtle, magnolia, pine, and yaupon holly. At completion the Interpretive Trail will be paved with a light tone, impacted granite sand and gravel aggregate. It will measure 10’ in width, with a winding length of approximately 1,700’, or about a third of a mile. The four installation design sites along the trail vary in size.
Each site has been assigned a theme related to Mitchelville’s unique historic significance and its continued relevance to the ongoing thematic goals of Democracy, our shared American Heritage: Freedom, Self-Determination, Opportunity and Citizenship. Sculptural elements on the Interpretive Trail will also celebrate engagement of Gullah culture in the official Gullah Geechee Corridor which Mitchelville is situated within.
See illustrative exhibits and images for a sense of the character of each site.
All artworks must be offset 5’ minimum from the trail to allow maintenance vehicles to pass.
All proposed materials for fabrication must be suitable for saltwater environments.
All proposed designs must consider defensible design, suitable for public safety.
Entrants are strongly encouraged to become familiar with Mitchelville’s history, purpose and development plans: https://exploremitchelville.org
Entrants are strongly urged to become familiar with Gullah culture, especially those aspects that may be important to proposed design ideas and creative approaches. There are currently many published works on the history of Gullah, and Gullah Geechee culture and environments. Included are books, articles, visual arts and films.
Site #1
Circle of Resilience
Suckle Stroyng
Site #1 will be the first installation encountered on the Interpretive Trail. This site will be a busy hub of activity, located near the Visitor Center and Event Lawn. We imagine this site as a playful and interactive gathering space to begin the transition from the buzz of activity at the park entrance to the more reflective and quiet sites farther along the interpretive trail. It is the largest site among the four. It will essentially represent the beginning threshold of the journey. Incorporated seating is desirable for this design proposal.
From the Visitor Center entry plaza, guests will begin the Interpretive Trail and walk approximately 180 feet to Site #1. The site is on the south side of the Interpretive Trail and just west of the path to the boardwalk and pier. It is located close to the water’s edge with a backdrop of mature trees. Currently the site has very little slope and is filled with dwarf palmettos, which can easily be relocated and/or incorporated into the design. The site area is roughly trapezoidal in shape, with 58’ of frontage along the trail which tapers to 40’ at the back of the site along the treeline. Site #1 is broadest on the west side and narrows on the boardwalk trail (east) side, providing an approximate area of 807sf. The site is shaded for much of the day. Prominent views would be the approach to the site from the west and east along the trail.
Maximum height for Site #1 is 8’
Site #2
So Much So Many
Summuch
Site #2 is approximately 1/10 mile east of Site #1 on the north side of the Interpretive Trail. From Site #1, guests will pass by the Event Lawn, after which the trail will enter a wooded area that has been cleared of dense underbrush. Site # 2 is set within a small clearing in the wooded area, surrounded by an overhead canopy of mature live oaks that create a dappled shade effect that changes through the course of the day. Site #2 feels like a “room” within these trees, with the vertical oak trunks lending a sense of structural enclosure around the site.
Site #2 is roughly half-moon shaped, with 36’ of frontage on the north side of the trail and extending back into the trees approximately 26’ at the center of the arc. The arc tapers to about 15’ as it returns to the trail, providing an approximate area of 780sf. Visibility of this site would emerge suddenly as guests round a turn in the trail, lending a sense of surprise to the viewer. When approaching from the east, views of the site would be somewhat obscured by a cluster of trees before coming into clear view.
Maximum height for Site #2 is 6’
Site #3
The Crossroads Carried Them
Fork Road Cya’um
Site #3 is currently a little more challenging to visualize due to dense vegetative cover. However, once completed, it would be the most quiet and reflective site on the trail in the most naturalistic environment. From the open grove of trees at Site #2, the trail will continue northeast approximately 1/10 mile, passing by the “General Store” interpretive area before transitioning to a progressively more densely forested environment. Due to the vegetative cover, this site will likely not be visible until it is actually encountered on the trail.
The dense forest understory lends a sense of enclosure and privacy to Site #3, with shaded conditions throughout the day. This understory is populated by yaupon holly, dwarf palmetto, wax myrtle, and other native species. Its overhead canopy is composed of a mix of mature and young live oaks, laurel oaks, and cabbage palm. The site area is roughly the shape of a half-moon, measuring approximately 30’ along the trail frontage, and 20’ deep at the center of the arc to total approximately 550sf. Site #3 is also very near to the marsh edge, the crash of waves on the beach just north of the site will be audible from this location. In the future, a boardwalk alignment is planned to meet the Interpretive Trail just east of Site #3. Therefore, eventually this site will be located at a junction in the trail.
Maximum height for Site #4 is 6’
Site #4
After Freedom Was Declared
Attuh Freedum Declare
Site #4 is the terminus of the trail. From Site #3, the trail continues northeast past a stately live oak to emerge at the threshold between the forest and the beach. The site will emerge into view at this threshold, where the tree canopy ends, and sand beach begins. The site is currently surrounded by dwarf palmetto and wax myrtles, which could be selectively pruned to reveal desired views. The site has the possibility to span both sides of the trail to heighten the experience of crossing a threshold, or to frame the view.
Site #4 is trapezoidal in shape, with 40’ of frontage on the southeast side of the trail. The site area extends approximately 22’ to 25’ off from the trail, tapering to 21’ in width at the edge of the site for a total area of approximately 637 SF. The northwest portion of Site #4 has about 10’x10’ or 100 sf. of usable area from the trail that could accommodate a narrow, vertical installation. Site #4 also has the potential to draw in visitors from nearby Fish Haul Beach Park; the site will be visible to passing beachgoers.
Site #4 looks east to the coast of West Africa, homeland of the enslaved and their descendants; also, northwest to Camp Saxton, near Beaufort, South Carolina, where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read. The height of any Site #4 element must clear 10’ over the Interpretive Trail to accommodate emergency vehicles and the maximum height of any proposed overhead element must not exceed 12’.