Columbus officials will close 16th Street briefly in mid-May for work on the street’s asphalt art project.
The Columbus Board of Works has approved a request to close the street from May 14 to May 20 so that the pavement may be painted. City Engineer and Executive Director of Public Works Dave Hayward said that the rain dates are June 4 through June 10.
According to the Columbus Area Arts Council, which serves as the project manager and fiscal agent, the asphalt artwork will be a ground plane mural installed along 16th Street between the intersections of Home Avenue and Union Street. The location was selected by the city due to its identification in the Columbus Central Neighborhood Plan as an important commercial node for the surrounding neighborhood.
The project’s goals include creating artwork that transforms the neighborhood and “inspires and uplifts residents and visitors,” improving walkability and safety, increasing foot traffic, and enhancing “social connectivity and economic growth through creative placemaking and art activation.”
Project partners include the arts council, the City of Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department and Columbus Regional Health Healthy Communities. The project is made possible by a $25,000 Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative grant and additional support from both the city and CRH.
In March, the arts council and its partners announced that artists Cory Robinson and Shamira Wilson were selected by a committee of local residents and business owners to design the asphalt art project.
Cory Robinson is an artist, designer and professor at the IUPUI Herron School of Art and Design. He has an MFA in applied design from San Diego State University.
Shamira Wilson is an Indianapolis-based interdisciplinary visual artist. She received a BA in psychology from Johns Hopkins University in 2004, and has studied furniture design at the Herron School of Art and Design.
According to the project’s design description, “Wilson and Robinson’s approach to the 16th Street project builds on strengths and similarities between the individual artists, while striving to find new ways of working with shared themes to explore new ideas for the site. Playing with the vocabulary of grids, muted and vibrant color palettes and a series of repeated ‘leaf’ shapes has led the creative team to the initial proposal.”
The arts council is also seeking volunteers to work on the project, including (but not limited to) painting, cleanup, community surveys and site preparation.
Hayward said that the artwork will likely be temporary, as these kinds of asphalt projects wear over time and last a few years at most.
“In the case of this one at 16th and Home, they will do some maintenance to try to keep it up, but they recognize the fact that it’s going to wear out,” he said. “And after a couple of years, we’re going to let it expire and repave the street, probably.”
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More information about the project can be found at artsincolumbus.org/16th-street-asphalt-art. The page also contains a link to a google form for anyone interested in volunteering to help with the project.
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