Whistle, Two, Ready! Unveiled at Mill Ridge Park Grand Opening this Month

On Wednesday, August 16th, Metro Arts unveiled Whistle, Two, Ready!, a new permanent public art installation created by Daily tous les jours. The artwork dedication was part of the Grand Opening (Phase 1) of Mill Ridge Park in Antioch, Tennessee. The park is a 600-acre property that will be home to playgrounds, exercise equipment, a circular path, trails, and interactive artwork. 

Whistle, Two, Ready! is a series of five bollards that are positioned within a linear pathway and marked with an inset linework.

Together, they create a framework for musical exploration through interaction. The artwork encourages collaboration, and invites passers-by to take a musical shortcut through the park, uncovering new sounds, rhythms, and lights.  

How it works:

1. Stepping on a line  triggers a short note or phrase. Each line will have a complementary sound which will layer into synced harmony and rhythm. 

2. Melodies are created.  As people circle around the bollards, the music becomes richer and more complex.

3. Together, people create varied musical and visual compositions. With increasing footfall and simultaneous exploration, compositions emerge, with musical flourishes unlocked through deeper exploration and cooperation.

One of the main creative features for the music is the incorporation of student recordings from the Cane Ridge High School Band, the Rhythmic Ravens.   During a community engagement session held with the artists, students at Cane Ridge learned about technical aspects of the artwork and how their music would be incorporated.  Using the measurements of a marching band, lines on the ground show people where to step. Rhythm is the foundation to the experience: it helps people intuitively synchronize movements.

Fun facts about the music: 

• Each bollard contains up to 105 audio files - different instruments, sounds, and layers of sound come in over time.  

• 2 bollards provide the rhythmic foundation to the experience - the drum loops have all been recorded by the Cane Ridge High School band.  

• 3 bollards play sounds by melodic marching band instruments, such as the tuba, the flute, the saxophone and the xylophone. 

Behind the Scenes of Whistle, Two, Ready!

In 2018, Metro Arts formed a selection panel of local community members and design professionals to select a public artist to create a site-specific artwork at the new Mill Ridge Park. The panel selected Daily tous les jours, which leads an emergent field of practice that combines interactive art, storytelling, performance, and urban design to reinvent living together in the 21st century. Founded in 2010 by Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat, the award-winning Tiohtia:ke/Montréal-based studio has been producing projects that encourage citizens to play an active role in the transformation of their cities, with the public spaces we share everyday as the canvas.    

Community Engagement: Friends of Mill Ridge Park

Daily tous les jours collaborated with local artist Robbie Lynn Hunsinger to assist with community engagement, technical work and project feedback. Community engagement included sessions with the public, Friends of Mill Ridge Park, and students from Cane Ridge High School.   Together, they reflected on the Antioch area’s distinct identity, the co-existence of nature and urban growth, its rich history and diversity (environmental, agricultural, social, and cultural), and things that are important to residents, including walking, seating, music, connection, play, and self-expression.

Community Engagement: Cane Ridge High School Students

This public art installation is funded through Metro Nashville’s Percent for Public Art Fund, established in 2000 under Mayor Bill Purcell. This fund allocates one percent of funding for designated projects in the Metro Capital Improvements Budget toward the commission of artworks in the Metro Public Art Collection. More information about Metro Nashville’s public art collection is available at www.metroartsnashville.com/public-art.