The proposed pier by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. Photo: Nasher Sculpture Center

The Nasher Sculpture Center announced on Saturday the third public artwork that will be part of its Nasher XChange program, which marks the center’s 10th anniversary. Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone will design a pier to serve Fish Trap Lake, located a block west of Hampton Road off Singleton Boulevard.

The announcement for each project so far (Ruben Ochoa’s piece for the Trinity River Audubon Center and Rick Lowe’s “social sculpture”) has included a community event. On Saturday, about 40 volunteers gathered at 10 a.m. to pick up trash around the lake; more were expected later in the day.

“This is about the Nasher – our 10th anniversary. But it also is about exchange and partnership in the deepest sense,” said Nasher director Jeremy Strick. “This is about collaborations between the Nasher, the artists, the communities and the community partners, and each member of that participating.”

For the Fish Trap Lake project, the Nasher has partnered with the Dallas Housing Authority. Its CEO, MaryAnn Russ, was out among the volunteers, gloves on and trash bag in hand.

“West Dallas has a history of, I guess you could call it, ‘benevolent ignoring’ by a lot of people in Dallas,” Russ said. “But we hope that Mr. Rondinone’s sculpture will bring people here to see what West Dallas is today. … It’s great symbolically, and because of what the sculpture is – a pier – it’s great practically, too, because people will use it. Just about any time you come you’ll see people fishing. This lake gets a lot of use.”

And it’s an area of Dallas that has always been part of the city’s artistic landscape. Back in the 1850s, the area where Fish Trap Lake sits was a part of the La Reunion Colony.

“We talk about Dallas being a center for the arts,” Strick says. “You can argue that the arts in Dallas started in this location with the La Reunion Colony.”

The next piece of Nasher XChange is scheduled to be announced on Friday. You can read the news release about the Fish Trap Lake project at nashersculpture.org.