For the competition, "Stored Potential," Emerging Terrain solicited submissions for 20’x80’ images to hang on
the exterior of 13 silos that comprise a highly visible vacant grain
elevator near downtown Omaha. Selected banners were to interpret and
represent the interrelatedness between land use, food, and agriculture
as embodied in the elevator. After residing on the Omaha elevator for
3-4 months, the banners will travel to three other prominent vacant
elevators throughout the state.Castro Watson's submission, "Speak Up for Small Farms," was chosen by the competition jury as 1 of the 13 images out of over 150 submissions. Conceived as a landscape of political activism, our
banner is a quilt of 539 colored hexagons with each swatch indicating a Senate
or Congressional district and enjoining them with the statement, “Speak Up for
Small Farms.” When installed, the banner will represent a role call of
those who have the power to change the way we legislate and regulate farming in
the United States. After exhibition at four locations in Nebraska, the
banner will be harvested by a regional group of farmers, and each hexagon will
be detached and mailed to the designated US Senator, Member of The House of
Representatives, or host city Mayor.