Vermont Business Magazine The City Council last night unanimously and enthusiastically approved Montpelier’s first Public Art Master Plan, the result of a nearly two-year process aimed at creating a structure to guide strategic investing in public art to celebrate the city’s history, culture and people. The process began in April of 2015, when the City of Montpelier, in collaboration withMontpelier Aliveand theCommunity Engagement Lab, received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create a master plan for public art.
Work beganwith a series of interviews, surveys, public workshops and brainstorming sessions, involving people who live, work, study, shop or visit Montpelier. Themes that emerged, according to the master plan, included the idea that “public art is imperative to transform the city’s character and quality of place.”
The master plan offers strategies for integrating art into alleyways, parks, the bike path, infrastructure (such as bridges), traffic circles and “gateway intersections,” as well as in “overlooked places” such as the backs of buildings, staircases, sidewalks, and curb extensions. Ideas include murals, sculpture, light installations, and interactive art, along with pop-up and performance art.
Several projects were conceptualized in specific spots: a mural on the City Center Garage, earthworks in Hubbard Park, a gathering space at City Hall Plaza, and light installations on the city’s bridges and in the Bethany Church alley.
The $50,000 federal grant received in 2015 was matched by a $50,000 commitment from the city; the remainder of the $164,000 budget is being gathered through fund-raising and in-kind services. Last night, the city council discussed establishing a Public Art Fund to implement the plan with an annual contribution of $50,000.
The initial phase of the grant also involved commissioning the city’s first large-scale public art work, to be installed at the new Taylor Street transit center next summer. The project selected is an interactive revolving stone bench created by Putney-based artists Rodrigo Nava and Gregory Miguel Gomez.
The approved Public Art Master Plan is availablehere.
Source:City of Montpelier 10.25.2018