Sunday, December 11, come to NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center for a 12:30PM presentation by the BID celebrating the unveiling of aluminum art panels installed on the street light poles downtown. This is BID’s first DRI public art project, and it was prepared with funding provided by the NYS Department of State funded by the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
Program presenters include Jesse Kline, Assistant Director of the BID; Auburn City Councilor Jimmy Giannettino; and Courtney Rae Casper, Visitor Experience Manager at the Equal Rights Heritage Center. After the program, jazz musician Connie Fredericks-Malone will perform holiday favorites from 1 – 4PM, and the event will run until 5PM with artisan vending and hand’s-on activities.
The 40 art panels will promote our city’s history, culture & recreational opportunities. The designs are meant to be lure pieces to educate and attract residents and visitors to explore our assets. The creative team includes five local artists, who will have vending displays during the event, and their original artwork created for the panel designs will be on view through January 2023. Artist Statements are available at the ERHC front desk, sharing the inspiration behind their work. There is also a set of notecards, with each of the 12 designs, for purchase for $12. Sales will benefit programming for Auburn’s Historic & Cultural Sites Commission.
Panel artists include Tom Hussey, Dawn Jordan, Candy Lucas, Sally Stormon and Sandy Shutter. Per the project’s graphic design, BID worked with Laura Coburn of Coburn Design, and Tom Hitchcock of Farmboy Graphics. Mike Talbot and Jason Brown from City DPW assisted with the installation.
Panel sites represented include Auburn Public Theater, Cayuga Museum & Case Research Lab, the Equal Rights Heritage Center, Fort Hill Cemetery, Harriet Tubman Home, Schweinfurth Art Center, Seward House, Willard Chapel, Emerson Park, Ward O’Hara Ag Museum & The Rev Theatre Co.
Panels will be installed in high traffic visible areas around the Loop Road, Wegmans, Market Street Park, Dill Street, the Centro Bus stop and City public parking lot, the Boyle Center, the Equal Rights Heritage Center & City Parking Garage. They will also be installed on W. Genesee Street to connect downtown to the Cayuga Museum and Schweinfurth Art Center’s West End Campus.
The panels are made of aluminum, so they are durable, long lasting, fade resistant, and require no maintenance. They are also conducive to reproducing artwork at a high quality, in comparison to vinyl banners. Each panel is 2’ W x 3’ H, and they are double-sided with two different designs on each side. This is a very exciting project that will help transform our city’s core urban landscape. Next spring, we look forward to more BID DRI murals and sculptures downtown.
