The works of revitalization are in large part because of the efforts of the Springfield Public Art Committee.
Chris Schutte, the vice president of destination marketing and communications for the Greater Springfield Partnership, said members of the committee studied the book “Building a Vibrant Community,” by Quint Studer.
Struder effected change in his community of Pensacola, Florida, through several initiatives focused on public art. He then visited Springfield to meet with local stakeholders and even held a public forum detailing how their process worked.
Local stakeholders visited the Studer Institute in Pensacola to dig deeper into building a vibrant community. When they returned, they formed the Springfield Public Art Committee to focus on bringing new artists and public art to the community — especially in the downtown core.
Kevin Rose, Springfield historian at the Turner Foundation and member of The Public Art Committee, expressed his enthusiasm for the transformation throughout the city.
“There are multiple reasons as to why we do this, however, in the beautification of the public art we are creating community and sending a strong message that this is everyone’s downtown,” he said.
Springfield began with its first mural on Main Street downtown. The piece celebrates Springfield’s past as the Rose City, a mail-order floral center. Its original design was created by Colorado Artist Mariah Kaminsky in her collaboration with Project Jericho, whose at-risk youth poured in 300 hours of work.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield’s latest piece is the “Dream Big” mural, which was originally commissioned by the Greater Springfield Partnership and curated by the Columbus artist Jeremy Jarvis. This mural aimed to capture the momentum and endless potential of the Springfield community, with its 75 different vibrant colors.
Marta Wojcik, the executive director and curator of the Westcott House Foundation, talked about the effects of the murals downtown.
“People look at these buildings as only an office space and then find it hard to appreciate the beauty of it,” she said. “This is our way to put something on the building to enhance this beautiful space and make people pay attention to what we have downtown.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Wojcik was excited for the future of the art transformation downtown.
“There is so much more to come, some of our murals are so loved, but for right now we have to keep in mind how to maintain them,” she said.
The future of the murals is in good hands, officials said, as the Public Art Committee focuses on the details of maintaining the upkeep of the art.
“We’re honestly really focused on maintenance and the longevity of the murals,” Rose said.
“What happens to them after we paint them? Right now it’s not what new murals can we make, but how can we make sure that these assets we created are here in another 15-20 years, if we decide they should be,” he said.
The Westcott House and Springfield Public Art are currently collaborating to bring the artist Janel Young to create a new large-scale mural for the Springfield community.
The location and date of the new mural creation will be announced soon.
About the Author