The new Enright CSA bicycle-art cart

In case some folks didn’t see the posting on Facebook about the new bicycle cart that is getting a workout around the Enright CSA fields, I thought it might be nice to put it on the blog as well.

The bicycle cart comes to us courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center and artist Till Wolfner, facilitated by CSA member Suellyn Shupe. She got a call from Peter Huttinger, Community Gardens Coordinator at the Cincinnati Civic Garden Center, after he was contacted by the Contemporary Arts Center to recommend an urban farm in Cincinnati that could use a custom-built bicycle cart.

The cart was built to the Enright CSA’s specifications—it can carry produce both from the garden to the greenhouse and to use as a rolling farm stand. Charles loaded it with
50 pounds of freshly picked tomatoes the day it arrived, and easily maneuvered its load to the greenhouse. The whole structure is made of aluminum and is very light. The bicycle has six speeds, making it easy to pedal even fully loaded. It’s also remarkably maneuverable, making it useful both on the street and around the farm fields.

The man who built it is a German artist who specializes in functional art, Till Wolfner, who is associated with an artists’ co-op in Denmark but was an artist in residence at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) this summer. He has returned to the Danish artist co-op, but will make the plans for the Enright CSA cart he built available online in the future.

The Enright CSA cart will return temporarily to the CAC in downtown Cincinnati in September, where it will be part of a special exhibit entitled “Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses, and Abandoned Lots.” The CAC farm art show opens September 22, 2012, and will remain on view through January 20, 2013. The works focus on farming as a form of activism as well as an art form.

When the exhibit closes, the Enright CSA cart will return to Price Hill to be used in future seasons. But if you have a chance, go take a look at it when it’s on display at the Contemporary Arts Center. We’re part of a movement!