Stored Potential: Land Use, Agriculture and Food

A large-scale installation re-purposing a prominent grain elevator no longer used for its original purpose.

Stored Potential began as a desire to do something with a grain elevator that had become white noise to 76,000 daily passing commuters on I-80 near downtown Omaha. We identified potential in this marker of urban transformation and formed a collaboration between artists, foundations, city agencies, landowners, organizations, sponsoring corporations and individuals, neighborhood associations, and countless volunteers.

In spring 2010, Emerging Terrain solicited submissions for 20’x80’ images to hang on the exterior of 13 of the elevator’s silos. Selected images were chosen for their interpretation and representation of the interrelatedness between land use, food, and agriculture. The images were printed at the scale of the enormous structure, hung to wrap the concrete cylinders, and celebrated with an 800-foot continuous table, mirroring the length of the grain elevator. The combination of the gigantic artwork and the choreography of the dinner created an experience of juxtaposed scales: the massiveness of industrial agriculture and the human dimensions of a meal. Dinner was served in 6 courses planned and prepared by 10 local chefs and dozens of culinary students, produced by 40 local growers, and delivered to the table by animated servers.

Sincere thank you to founding project sponsors Peter Kiewit Foundation and Weitz Family Foundation, Banner sponsors: Cargill, Carol Gendler, Duncan Aviation, Gavilon, Marathon Realty, Omaha Steaks, The Scoular Company, Paul and Annette Smith, Trumble Family Farms, Warren Distribution, and our friends at Silo Extreme Outdoor Adventures for the generous use of your grain elevator.