UW–Madison alumnus David B. Dahlquist, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the School of Education’s Art Department in 1980, is gaining recognition on the international stage for his public art installation, “Do Something Good For Your Neighbor,” which is featured in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, “La Biennale di Venezia,” in Venice, Italy. The exhibition is one of the world’s most prestigious showcases of architecture and design.
Constructed in 2021 and owned by Fort Worth Public Art, the installation takes the form of a small pavilion — which normally stands on Lake Como in Texas. The weathered steel structure includes custom-carved benches made from century-old white oak, engraved with words and phrases from The Lake Como Weekly, a local newspaper founded by community leader William H. Wilburn Sr. The pavilion’s title, “Do Something Good For Your Neighbor,” was originally the newspaper’s masthead artwork.
Created in collaboration with artist Matt Niebuhr of RDG Dahlquist Art Studio and RDG Planning & Design, the project was previously one of just 54 designs selected for the U.S. Pavilion exhibition, “PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity,” commissioned by the U.S. Department of State and organized by the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, in partnership with DesignConnects and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. It also received the AIA Iowa Chapter’s Excellence in Design Award.
Dahlquist has served on the Art Department Board of Visitors and received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Education in 2009. His work “Both/And — Tolerance/Innovation” is a permanent sculptural installation on Campus Mall.
“Do Something Good For Your Neighbor” will be on view as part of “La Biennale di Venezia” through Nov. 23.
Learn more about the project in this article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.