Germantown looking for input on public art plan for residents
Even at this time of social distancing, the city of Germantown is seeking input on what types of public art residents want to see, to draw the community together in the future.
The city, led by the Germantown Performing Arts Center, is working with Ohio-based public art consultant Designing Local and local public artist and consultant Cat Peña to develop a public art master plan for Germantown. The $100,000 effort — split evenly between the city and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts — is intended to create a plan that will guide the development of future public art to ensure it will reflect the values of the community.
Currently, the project, dubbed Artslaunch, is in its citizen engagement phase, Peña said. She encouraged everyone to share their thoughts on public art, even if they weren’t necessarily supportive of Artslaunch.
“Every citizen’s opinion matters, even people who think funding should be going to other places,” she said. “Every citizen’s option matters. We’re really at the very beginning of this process.”
GPAC executive director Paul Chandler said the point of the engagement phase is to learn what Germantown residents think are the most important aspects of their community.
“Right now we’re gathering data,” he added. “We’re not looking for one response or another.”
Originally, they intended to get input through an art cart that would be present at public events. The cart featured both a paper survey and an interactive component, where users could take clear ornaments and put paint or colored paper into the orb depending on what matters to them most about their city.
The orbs provide a visual representation of what residents value in the city and are also intended to be included in a public art piece that will be unveiled at an open house for The Grove, GPAC’S outdoor entertainment venue, on May 9.
Peña said she is now brainstorming new ways to seek public input since community events have been canceled for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus. An online survey is also available on the Artslaunch website.
However, in the three events the art cart was at before the advent of social distancing, Peña said about 100 responses were received. And the conversations she had with people were overwhelmingly positive.
“Everyone’s response was, ‘Thank God that this is happening and that this is a focus,’” she said.
What was most interesting to Peña was that many people who interacted with the cart selected interconnectedness — defined within the project as good neighbors, lasting friendships, generations, families, unity and sense of belonging — as the most important value of the community for them.
“People do get stuck into what they think public art is, a mural or an expensive, static, permanent object,” she said. “While those pieces are great and can mean a lot of things to people, the role of public art is to be able to speak to the things that connect us and to cherish the places that are special in a community.”
Corinne Kennedy is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.kennedy@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Corinneskennedy