Highly acclaimed artist, Jennifer Chenoweth, announced that the next phase of her groundbreaking public art project, XYZ Atlas, will be taking place in Bryan/College Station in 2017. XYZ Atlas is a unique art exhibition with the goal of expressing the attachment and belonging people feel towards different places. Chenoweth teamed up with geographer David O’Donnell in 2013 to create a beautiful map of Austin. The map is a collection of emotional highs and lows that locals connect to the places they visit in Austin, and now they are setting their sights on Aggieland.
According to an XYZ Atlas press release, “With unprecedented support for community stakeholders and organizations in Bryan and College Station, I’m excited to map and record the diverse perspective of the local population,” Chenoweth said, “Few studies have this kind of insight into where and how people experience emotional highs and lows.”
Chenoweth has a passion for people, and XYZ Atlas is completely devoted to displaying the beauty behind the culture of Bryan and College Station. Chenoweth also said, “My hope is that the information, stories and data that are uncovered through the project will help make Bryan and College Station more inclusive, healthy and valuable to those who live there.”
In November 2015, Chenoweth visited Texas A&M for GIS Day to begin her work on the project, and the project returned for Open Data Build Day last spring. The Texas A&M quad was transformed into a giant map of the entire BCS area. Surveys and questionnaires helped jumpstart the project, and now the survey is available online if anyone wishes to contribute their stories and experiences in the BCS area to the unique project.
Chenoweth will offer a free exhibition of her original artwork portraying the culture of Bryan and College Station this May. The project is being led by Chenoweth herself, but the team is made up of Texas A&M student volunteers and interns.
Aggieland is honored to have the opportunity to add to the artistic nature and cultural diversity of our favorite places through XYZ Atlas. The exhibition will not only give you a closer look into the daily lives of BCS residents but will broaden the understanding of the people of BCS and what makes them unique.
