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New Developments with Public Art
A PLAYGROUND, HYDRANTS AND A MASTER PLAN
By Jessica Smith arts@flagpole.com
PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN: Urban designer Todd Bressi,
who has spent the past year researching Athens through
surveys and community input sessions, has completed a
preliminary draft of a public art master plan for the Athens
Cultural Affairs Commission. The plan is intended to lay
a foundation for the implementation of various projects,
specifically ones that will beautify the city or help foster a
sense of community by offering an opportunity to contrib
ute or connect to others.
Of the 300-plus surveys received, many residents
expressed overwhelming interest in seeing more murals,
sculptures, infrastructural works and interactive projects.
One idea for incorporating more murals into the fabric of
Athens is to lease a downtown wall—thereby eliminating
site permissions and sign code concerns—for works that
would be rotated seasonally or biannually. The plan also
recommends inviting experienced muralists to town to lead
technical workshops or serve as mentors.
Bressi suggests the ACAC should develop a strategy for
incrementally adding more artist-designed bus shelters
to “You, Me & the Bus,” a series launched in 2009 by the
Athens Area Arts Council. On a similar note, the plan also
recommends consulting with bicycle advocacy groups and
developing a series of artist-made bike racks to install near
schools, housing areas and recreation centers.
An idea that would expand on the downtown master
plan’s goal of improving pedestrian walkways is an art walk
and cultural trail, which would visually map out various
sculptures and points of interest located within walking
distance of each other. The ACAC is directed to draw from
its own local pool of talent by supporting several artists and
their projects through grants each year, and collaborating
with art institutions or organizations to plan artist lectures
and residencies.
Athenians are encouraged to read over the proposed
plan on athensculturalaffairs.org, and to email info@athen-
sculturalaffairs.org with any feedback.
WORLD OF WONDER: The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission
has extended the deadline for professional artists and art
teams to submit design proposals for a public art project
at the World of Wonder Park at Southeast Clarke Park.
The SPLOST-funded neighborhood park on the Eastside
will undergo renovations next year that include new
landscaping, picnic tables and a multi-use trail in addition
to the public art project, which will replace the wooden cas
tle-themed play area that has warped over time. The initial
call for proposals resulted in only three submissions, none
of which met the requirements.
Ideally, the design will be accessible and interesting to
a wide range of ages and abilities. The ACAC is hoping for
a three-dimensional installation
that is interactive and sensory,
but it must also be non-climbing
and cannot block parents’ view
of children. The materials must
be highly durable in order to
minimize maintenance, weather
ing and vandalism. A $32,000
all-inclusive budget has been
allocated towards covering design,
materials, fabrication, travel,
installation, insurance and other
artist’s fees.
Final proposals must include a
resume, annotated images of pre
vious works, a full description of
the public artwork’s concept and
an estimated budget. Submissions
are due before Sunday, Oct. 2
at 11:59 p.m. through athen-
sclarkecounty.com/4161/Athens-
Cultural-Affairs-Commission.
A selection panel will meet
mid-October, and the Mayor and
Commission will vote on recom
mended artist(s) in November.
For questions, contact ACAC chairman Marc Beechuk at
706-248-1604 or info@athensculturalaffairs.org.
>- FIRE UP THE HYDRANTS: Freshly painted fire hydrants
have been popping up near street corners all around down
town over the past few weeks, courtesy of Fire Up the
Hydrants, a public art project spearheaded by the Athens-
Clarke County Water Conservation Office. Local artists
were selected from over 75 submissions to transform 20
hydrants into functional and life-saving works of art.
Many of the hydrants reflect a sense of place and local
pride, such as Sheridan Soileau’s “Athens Rocks” guitar
hydrant outside of the Georgia Theatre, Ashley Crain’s
“Georgia On My Mind” postcard-inspired hydrant in front
of City Hall and Jamie Calkin’s “Sunflowers in Athens”
hydrant on the corner of Broad and Lumpkin streets.
Several others were inspired by the natural world, such
as Will Eskridge’s bear outside of Creature Comforts and
Sarah Cook’s toadstool in front of Gigi’s Cupcakes.
All hydrants will be fully completed by the end of the
month and officially unveiled on Saturday, Oct. 8 during a
Fire Up the Hydrants event on College Avenue. For more
information, visit thinkatthesink.com.
SPREAD LOVE: Broderick Flanigan, who has led multiple
community-based mural projects within the past few years,
is one of Athens’ strongest and most self-motivated propo
nents of public art. In addition to running youth art pro
grams through Flanigan’s Portrait
Studio, he has guided children
through creating a mural honor
ing civil rights leaders Malcolm
X and Martin Luther King Jr. in
the East Athens Triangle Plaza, as
well as a mural commemorating
the 50th anniversary of Hilsman
Middle School. In September
2015, he traveled to Chiang Mai,
Thailand, for a two-week vol
unteer program with Art Relief
International. Come October, the
artist will take his talent all the
way to Kenya.
Flanigan plans to travel with
the 12-member mission team of
Ebenezer Baptist Church West,
which formed a partnership with
St. Carl Home of the Champions
School and Orphanage in Kisii,
Kenya, back in 2014. The group
takes an annual trip to repair haz
ardous infrastructure and donate
medicine, clothing, books and
other items. Flanigan will specifi
cally lend his expertise as a visual artist by leading children
through painting a mural inside of one of the school’s
buildings.
Donations help cover mural, medical and educa
tional supplies as well as visas, insurance and food. Visit
gofundme.com/kenyamission-mural to help. Flanigan
will host “Imani,” an exhibition of paintings, drawings,
sculpture and installation at the Athens Institute for
Contemporary Art as a fundraiser for his trip. An opening
reception will be held Thursday, Sept. 22 from 6-8 p.m., and
the show will remain on view through Saturday, Sept. 24. ©
David Lunde prepares to transform a fire hydrant into a
miniature fire station.
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