What do Grand Rapids and Washington D.C. have in common? They are both home to award-winning outdoor sculptural works by world-renowned artist Maya Lin. 

Lin was relatively unknown at the age of 21 when her design was chosen for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Since then, she has continued to create critically-acclaimed works around the world, including Ecliptic at our very own Rosa Parks Circle. Created in 2001, this local landmark underwent restoration in 2021-22 as part of a $3 million project to address the decades of wear and tear that had taken their toll on the art piece.

To help you learn more about this internationally known figure, here are five facts you might not know about this talented artist:

1. The Grand River Inspired Lin’s Design of Rosa Parks Circle

Named one of the Great Public Spaces in America by the American Planning Association, Rosa Parks Circle is both a community gathering place and a massive sculpture titled Ecliptic. Inspired by the city’s name and namesake river, Lin designed Ecliptic to incorporate water in its three physical states: liquid (represented by a table-like fountain), vapor (a mist fountain) and solid (a winter ice skating rink). 

Rosa Parks Circle was the first time Lin combined art with architecture, and she designed the park, a bandstand, ice rink and even a building to host the Zamboni!

People at Rosa Parks Circle

For her work, Ecliptic, Lin deftly combined art and architecture to create a public space in the heart of Grand Rapids.

Photo by Nick Irwin for Experience GR

2. Lin Is an Environmental Activist

Lin’s use of water in Rosa Parks Circle is in keeping with her interest in environmental issues. Her fifth and last memorial, titled What is Missing?, is aimed at raising awareness of the ongoing extinction of Earth’s species and the importance of biodiversity. In the artist’s n words, What is Missing? “focuses attention on species and places that have gone extinct or will most likely disappear within our lifetime if we do not protect them.” The project exists both as permanent sculptures and temporary media exhibits, and also as a website: whatismissing.org.

Lin speaks often of how one goal of her work is to get people to look at the landscape in different ways and how the landscape relates to the health and vitality of environments today. She also encourages all to vote with their wallets by supporting green businesses.

Maya Lin in front of her work, Pin River -- Grand River Watershed (detail).

Maya Lin in front of her work, Pin River — Grand River Watershed.

Photo by Jesse Frohman, Courtesy of Grand Rapids Art Museum

3. Lin Is the First Woman to Design a Memorial on the National Mall

The National Mall is a landscaped green space in Washington, D.C. that is home to many iconic memorials, including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and Lin's Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. Lin submitted a design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as part of her undergraduate studies at Yale University. Her submission was chosen out of over 1,400 others, including her professor's! While she is reported to have received a B+ from her professor on her winning design, she did receive an A overall in the class. 

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision is an Oscar-winning documentary exploring the artist’s creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It is available to stream free via PBS for a limited time.

Pin River-Grand River Watershed by Maya Lin, 2019 (detail), courtesy of GRAM

Pin River – Grand River Watershed is a representation of the Grand River Watershed through thousands of tiny pins pushed into the wall.

Photo by Courtesy Grand Rapids Art Museum. Artwork: Pin River – Grand River Watershed by Maya Lin

4. Lin's Midwestern Roots Inspired Her Work

Lin’s love of landscapes stretches back to her childhood where she enjoyed roaming in and around the woods and Native American burial mounds near her Ohio home. After spending a day outside, she would join her father and play with clay in his ceramic art studio, a precursor of what was to come.

Ice Skating at Rosa Parks Circle 2024

In the wintertime, Ecliptic's amphitheater transforms into a popular ice skating rink.

Photo by Ashley Wierenga for Experience GR

5. Lin Has Continued to Contribute to GR’s Art Scene

The Grand Rapids Art Museum hosted Flow, a seven-sculpture exhibition of Lin works also inspired by water, in 2019. The artist created two new pieces focused directly on West Michigan for the show: Pin River – Grand River Watershed was a sparkling 15-foot-long outline of the river that winds through Grand Rapids, and The Traces Left Behind (From the Great Bear Lake to the Great Lakes) was a shimmering wall relief cast from recycled silver. 

Lin also participated in a 2023-2024 exhibition at GR’s Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Forest of Dreams: Contemporary Tree Sculpture featured the work of Lin and 14 other international artists who offered unexpected and personal visions of trees.

Visit Lin’s website to see more of her works, including the Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Women’s Table at Yale University.