Featured Artwork in the Market
The Madison Public Market and TruStage MarketReady Hall are filled with artwork of all shapes and sizes. Collectively, the pieces reflect the core principles of Sustainability, Ecology, History, Place and Inclusivity. Murals, ceiling hung abstracts, historical tapestries and descriptions, land acknowledgements and glass etchings contribute to a sense of knowledge, wonder and honor.
Individual pieces are described below:
The first work featured is Elizah Leonard by Tom Jones. It is an exterior mural along First Street.
Jones is a Professor of Photography at UW-Madison and creates work that examines American Indian identity, experience, and perception. His photography is held in prestigious collections including National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Elizah Leonard won second prize in The National Portrait Gallery’s 2022 triennial Outwin Portrait Competition.
And Still, She Blossoms is a vibrant and engaging mural created by Madison La Follette High School and Middleton High School students under the guidance of La Follette teacher Monique Karlen. It is based on an original sketch by Shantiana McNeal, then a freshman at La Follette.
The mural first appeared as part of the 2020 Downtown Street Art & Mural Project.
High resolution photographs of the work were used to recreate the piece in vinyl on aluminum panel.
This mural is now located on an exterior wall facing the Market’s parking lot.
Axolotl & Alma by Issis Macias and Rodrigo Carapia are from the Raíces en Color (Roots in Color) collection that showcase the artists’ shared Mexican heritage. Macias, the 2025 Latina Artist of the Year, started the works with bold abstract compositions and contrasting colors. Carapia, a self-taught artist from Mexico City, superimposed vivid imagery celebrating Mexican culture.
The murals are located on two exterior walls that face the parking lot behind the building.
The Madison Public Market’s latest mural, Wahuura Šgaac Nąąkšąną, is shown being installed on the building. This mural faces East Johnson Street. design for this mural focuses on the intersection of the wetlands and prairies around the four lakes of Teejop and the creation of an ecosystem that has sustained the Ho-Chunk nation and their ancestors since time immemorial. It is composed of a depiction of the four lakes and Yahara River, botanical illustrations of plant medicines local to the wetlands and prairies of the Teejop area, and an Ojibwe floral frame that references the designs commonly found on bandolier bags among both the Ho Chunk and the Ojibwe.
Nipinet Landsem is a tattoo artist and illustrator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Caitlin Newago is a mother, artist, and tribal member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Ojibwe).
Like many of the art projects in the Market, private donations paid for Landsem and Newago’s mural. The Hoke Family Foundation generously sponsored Wahuura Šgaac Nąąkšąną through the Friends of the Madison Arts Commission.
These pieces adorn the rainwater cisterns with some of our region’s favorite animals. The cisterns collect rainwater from the roof, which is used to flush the building’s toilets. Hello Madison is an illustration project artist Mira Kim started in 2020. The work brought small moments of comfort and joy to people going through a difficult time. Kim creates artwork inspired by Madison.
A Good Day by Ho-Chunk graphic novelist Jim Terry serves as a Visual Land Acknowledgment. The work honors that the Madison Public Market is in Teejop (pronounced day-JOPE), the ancestral and current homeland of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Terry’s illustrations are featured on the main doors to the market and a large medallion into the entryway floor. Terry arranged A Good Day in quadrants:
- A person paddling a canoe
- Marshland plants and water
- Cranes in flight
- Deer in prairie grassland
The artist references the four earthly elements (wind, fire, air, and earth) and their connection to the four cardinal directions. In the center, the design celebrates the historical and cultural significance of the three sisters, corn, beans and squash. The work honors the history of the site with native cattails, a Yellow-headed Blackbird, and a nod to the historic Mendota canoe discoveries.
Greetings is a sculpture located in the north entry alcove. The work acts as a greeter for the Madison Public Market, creating a sense of curiosity and playfulness. The presence of this piece differentiates the Public Market from the outside world. It lets visitors know that they have entered a “third place” where they can relax, socialize and enjoy the surroundings.
The sculpture features a composite creature seated at a picnic table enjoying a cup of coffee and greeting visitors. An additional animal perched on the table is taking advantage of the other’s inattention to its food. The main figure is a composite of a bear with parts of other animals grafted on, such as antlers, horse hooves, and a cow’s tail. The creature on the table is a badger and duck.
Actual Size Artworks is the collaborative practice of Gail Simpson and Aristotle Georgiades. They specialize in creating public art and large-scale sculptures.
