By Galen Simmons
Local artists and those with a connection to St. Marys will soon have an opportunity to help beautify downtown through the St. Marys Business Improvement Area’s (BIA) utility box art-wrap project.
Recently, the BIA put out a call for artists on social media seeking those interested in creating original art wraps for between four and eight utility boxes in downtown St. Marys – at least in this first phase of the project. The idea, explained BIA social-media and marketing manager Sara Bradford and BIA board chair Megan Feeney, is to help make downtown St. Marys more welcoming and attractive for visitors and locals alike.
“I’ve always been interested in public art and how it brings absolute vibrancy and another cultural element to any downtown space, specifically,” Bradford said. “I love its capacity to tell a story and I think downtown St. Marys deserves to have its story told in a really special way that’s vibrant and connective and draws people in. Also, utility boxes are darn ugly; there’s no reason why they can’t be beautified.
“It’s one of those things that people don’t notice are an eyesore until they’ve been wrapped beautifully with something. Then they tend to stand out.”
While the project originally stemmed from an idea submitted by Bradford as part of an ultimately unsuccessful grant application, at its July meeting, the BIA board voted to allocate $10,000 from its reserves to move forward with it. At St. Marys council’s Sept. 10 meeting, the project was approved and the BIA, along with its partners on the town’s heritage committee, were given the green light to start looking for two or more artists to drive the creative vision for the utility box art wraps.
Based on the town’s consultations with STEPS Public Art, a Canadian charity that helps municipalities prepare for the beautification of public spaces through art with guidance from public-art plans, town director of corporate services André Morin told BIA board members at their July meeting that the estimated cost of commissioning an artist to create an original work and then wrapping a utility box with that art is between $1,500 and $2,000.
“I think it’s really important to work with artists that have a point of view,” Bradford said. “We’re not here to tell them what to create. We’re here to foster their ideas and creativity as long as it’s safe enough to fit in with what the heritage committee and the council feel okay about. They do, essentially, have to approve of any art created.
“We don’t know for sure if we’re doing four or eight boxes for the first round because we’re running out of time (this year). … In the first, initial stage, we want to focus on sort of the history and heritage of St. Marys. There’s such a rich history of downtown business and really celebrating that. … I don’t think that it’s highlight nearly enough.”
Bradford said artists could also find inspiration from the natural areas within St. Marys, but at the end of the day, the BIA board and its partners will let the artists selected for this project follow their inspiration and provide the creative direction for the art that will ultimately adorn the downtown utility boxes.
“Just because this is a project being funded by the downtown business improvement area, I want to make sure the artists aren’t thinking it has to showcase business and transaction,” Feeney said. “This is about getting people into the downtown. Historical content – absolutely – but whatever speaks to them. A lot of these people, we’re hoping, have some ties to St. Marys and the memories it has built, so I’m hoping we’ll see their St. Marys through their eyes.”
Currently, the BIA board’s artist selection committee is not looking for specific artistic submissions. They’re looking for artists to provide a portfolio of their work and a brief explanation of how they are connected to St. Marys. Special consideration will be given to artists who have created public art in the past, but that is not a prerequisite for this project. The names and portfolios of artists who apply for this project but are not selected will be kept on file for future art projects undertaken by the BIA.
Artists have until Sept. 30 at 4:30 p.m. to apply for this project and the selection will be made by Oct. 7. Visit www.townofstmarys.com/en/doing-business/About-the-BIA.aspx to find the project request for proposals document which includes more information about the scope of the work and how to apply.
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