By K.S. Thomas, contributor
Local downtown art murals were celebrated at an event held through the collaboration of Harrisonburg Public Works, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and the Art Council of the Valley on Monday, October 28 at Court Square Theater. In August, ten local artists painted the murals, which were then transferred to ten different traffic cabinets around downtown.
The event began at 5:30pm, with a large crowd made up of dozens of art enthusiasts. The organizers provided small snacks and refreshments, from cookies to crackers.
Andrea Dono, executive director of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance said that the event was inspired by similar public works projects around the country, such as the asphalt art installations from Bloomberg Philanthropies, where artists were given grants to make murals on public infrastructure.
Jenny Burden, executive director of the Arts Council of the Valley, called the artwork, “traffic cabinet art wraps,” due to the works of art being transferred to vinyl and then being applied to the traffic cabinets as opposed to being painted directly onto the cabinets.
According to Burden, the artists were chosen by a committee made up of people from the three organizations who put the event together. Their criteria for selecting the pieces require the works to be uplifting and celebratory, and not a distraction to drivers.
The artist presentations began at 6 pm, with representatives of the three organizations thanking the artists, members of the public, and their colleagues for putting the event together.
Brittany Clem-Hott, outreach and communications specialist for the City of Harrisonburg said that the artworks, “don’t only add beauty to our downtown, but they help us create a sense of place. Most importantly a place where our residents and visitors can feel uplifted when passing by.”
Following this, the artists spoke about the pieces in their own words, providing the background to their pieces, as well as their inspirations.
One artist, Katie Cousins, said that her piece, “The Year of the Dragon,” was inspired by the Chinese zodiac of this year, which represents power and luck. She used acrylic and spray paint to create the blue dragon depicted in the artwork, as well as the contrasting orange flowers surrounding it.
“It is my intent that viewers can utilize the ideas behind the year of the dragon to encourage their own growth and positive change,” she said.
Another, Alex Dorney, also known as Goofcraft, had a piece titled, “Scenes from Fruitland,” which was a hand-cut collage inspired by seed catalogs and the plant diversity in the Shenandoah Valley.
The piece depicted a figure made up of various plants, fruits, and vegetables, such as lettuce, green beans, and eyes of strawberry, which look towards a flower to the left with petals made of cornstalk. Dorney arranged the collage digitally, and said that he has plans to animate the artwork using stop motion in the future.
One more artist, Ver Ikeseh, said that the main inspiration for his piece titled, “Awa Wam,” was the theme of interconnectedness and, “interwoven bonds,” as well as portraying the feelings of being native or alien in the different places he has been.
The piece depicts a woman surrounded by contrasting detailed shapes and patterns, especially on her headscarf. He said that he delves into defined identities and the process of assimilation; processes which he said are, “physical, emotional, and even spiritual.”
The current installations are here to stay indefinitely. In the future, Burden said that they plan on having phase two of downtown artworks and that they are shooting for a 2028 release.
All of the pieces can be viewed in full on the Harrisonburgva.gov website.
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