City Working to Bolster Public Art

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Worcester is full projects to rebuild its economic strength, and one upcoming initiative will bring life both to the city’s development and culture.

“We know that arts bring life to the city,” said Worcester’s Cultural Development Officer Erin Williams. “The more we invest in public art, the richer we are as a city proper. We think of this as one piece of making this a creative city as a whole.”

The Cultural Development Office is currently gathering feedback to determine where would be the best spots in the city for more murals, sculpture, and creative input. Work will happen in the fall, and then Worcesterites can expect to see results.

“We’re now conducting a survey to determine where public art currently exists in the city and engage people about where public art would be best suited,” Williams said. “Worcester is a creative city and supports the idea that arts make a livable city not just in terms of economic development but in terms of social development.”

City Councilor Rick Rushton has also done his share to keep the item a priority for the city. In light of this year’s lack of Art in the Park, he says it will help keep the city’s creative juices flowing.

“It generated out of a report a couple months ago about Art in the Park,” said Councilor Rick Rushton. “I thought it was a good opportunity to focus on increasing our public art not just in Elm Park but in all parks.”

“Institute Park at WPI is already in the works with putting in some sculpture in that park. I want to take that opportunity to highlight it and potentially work with other stakeholders to develop a similar thing in other parks,” he said. “We’ll also work beyond just parks – on the

sides of buildings and murals. It adds to quality. Projects like this won’t happen overnight, but they don’t happen unless you keep your thumb on it.”

Williams knows that while projects like City Square are vital to keeping Worcester’s economic development on track, public art is another key component.

“Public art is one thing that attracts people to a city. Our goal would be to develop as much public art as possible with artists and stay within the public sector,” she said.

The Worcester Arts Council is the local component of the initiative made up of volunteers. The Arts Council initiates grants from Massachusetts Cultural Council, and just completed its community input meeting.

“They engage people – to say, ‘What would you like us to spend money on?’ It helps us do that too. We learn if people would rather see more arts in schools or public arts. We learn where we should direct these dollars,” Williams said. “There are a lot of places we have discussed with developers.”