CREATING COMMUNITY, ONE TILE AT A TIME.
TunnelVision is working with the Middletown community to revitalize the Harbor Park Walking Tunnel. Learn more about how our project celebrates the history of this place, from recent to prehistoric times.
Hey There!
Welcome to TunnelVision, a project conceived by Middletown artist Kate Ten Eyck, and carried out in collaboration with multiple artists and community partners in Middletown, Connecticut. Through this project, local artists have been commissioned to respond to different aspects of the culture and history of Middletown, as well as the history of the land and natural world before human civilization, all through the medium of mosaic.
The Riverfront Brings People Together
A central goal of the project is to connect local artists with diverse community groups working together to transform the Harbor Park pedestrian tunnel that passes under Route 9. This tunnel is the primary way a pedestrian can safely access the park and the Connecticut River from downtown Middletown. This project would result in the permanent installation of mosaics to the tunnel walls, turning the tunnel into an immersive community public art installation piece.
Middletown has Always Been
Shaped by the Connecticut River
Middletown’s once thriving port supported trade and economic opportunity which in large part paved the city’s development. In the 1960’s, however, the construction of Route 9 severed the heart of the city from the river. Today, a pedestrian who seeks access to the river must walk through a depressing, long, and poorly lit industrial concrete tunnel.
Meet our Artists
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Kate Ten Eyck
Artistic Director & Lead Artist
Kate Ten Eyck is an artist, educator, and technician based in Middletown, CT. Her diverse range of work has included sculpture, performance art, drawing, printmaking, musical composition and performance, stop motion animation, and, most recently, tile mosaic. Kate completed her BFA in Sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design and holds an MFA in Printmaking from The Hartford Art School. She has served as Wesleyan University’s Art Studio Technician since 2000 and as a member of the Studio Art faculty since 2006, where she has taught classes primarily in drawing, but also printmaking and community based public art. -
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Wendy Black-Nasta
Lead Artist
Wendy Black-Nasta is a jewelry designer and metal sculptor whose work can be seen in museums and private collections around the world. She has designed sacred objects in metal for churches & monasteries in the U.S. and Asia, and spent 20 years designing collections of jewelry for Saks Fifth Ave., Macy’s and other department stores and museum shops across the country. In 2003 she created her best-known piece, “The International Peace Belt” which catalyzed the formation of her non-profit organization, Artists for World Peace. -
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Ilana Harris-Babou
Lead Artist
Ilana Harris-Babou's work is interdisciplinary; spanning sculpture and installation, and grounded in video. She speaks the aspirational language of consumer culture, using humor as a means to digest painful realities. Her work confronts the contradictions of the American Dream: the ever unreliable notion that hard work will lead to upward mobility and economic freedom. -
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Pierre Sylvain
Lead Artist
Pierre is an award-winning, self-taught multimedia artist represented throughout the country in both solo and group shows. He works in mediums including paintings, tile, stained glass, textile, and found objects.
