Can You Find the Watermarkers?

Watermarker in Harbor View Plaza. Photo taken Nov. 12, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

A handful of functional, public art installations have gone up around the city.

They are watermarkers: large blue letters placed on top of poles that will glow when a heavy rainstorm is on the way. So far there are six of them.

The watermarkers are the latest initiative of Watermarks, a project developed by the group, City as a Living Laboratory, which brings together scientists, artists and local residents to work on projects that raise public awareness about water as an important resource. The goal, ultimately, is to inculcate a public sense of respect and responsibility for water.

“When I see [watermarkers], I know this means the community came together with artists and scientists and residents to talk about water and the water issues in their neighborhood and the city at large,” said Katie Avila Loughmiller, WaterMarks Project Manager for Programming & Engagement.

A watermarker went up in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood Tuesday morning at the northeast corner of W. North Avenue and N. 15th Street.

“This watermarks project has been going on for such a long time in Milwaukee and letting people know about the importance of water and how water intersects with our daily lives in this city,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who first engaged with the program as an alderman.

The mayor presented the Watermarks volunteers with a proclamation, declaring Nov. 12, 2024 Watermarks Day throughout the city of Milwaukee.

The watermarkers project began as an effort to create a water atlas spread across the city of Milwaukee’s streets, according to Mary Miss, an internationally known artist and a founder of City as a Living Laboratory. The project was first announced in 2016 after receiving $200,000 from Marquette University‘s Innovation Fund.

“So I’m kind of in disbelief that we’ve actually gotten this far,” Miss said, “but it is to a great extent, thanks to a man who’s an engineer, who’s willing to talk to an artist.”

The engineer is Kevin Shafer, executive director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. The sewerage district worked with watermarks to integrate its Water Drop Alerts into the public art pieces. Local residents have to sign up for the alerts and they ping cell phones letting local residents know when a large rain event is coming. The message is to limit water use so that space is saved within the sewerage system to capture all the stormwater coming in, preventing overflows into local rivers, streams or Lake Michigan.

Each watermarker going up around the city includes a letter that was chosen by local residents representing a message for the community. In the case of Lindsay Heights, the “L” isn’t just a nod to the neighborhood, but also to love and loyalty.

“They not only speak to our relationship with water,” said Yvonne McCaskill, who worked on the Century City watermarker, “but they are also designed to bring us together for a cause.”

Watermarkers

A full list of watermarkers that have been installed, and will be installed, is available on the Watermarks website.