Community Collaboration On Display In Downtown Garner, NC
Earlier this year, a group of local artists came together to create panels that will be on display in downtown Garner, NC. Each panel is 3ft by 4ft and we were given the freedom to bring our individual visions to life in the spirit of celebrating our local community!
The dozens of panels are on view throughout downtown Garner and my panel is located at the entrance of the Garner Recreational Park: 221 E Garner Rd, Garner, NC 27529
“Navigating Common Pathways”
Garner Art Around Town Project | Acrylic Paint On Panel | On Public Display Aug-Nov 2021
My panel is a conceptual piece that I used to explore the ever-evolving reality that we are facing as the world “opens back up”. COVID-19 is still very much a real threat to the world, however, in our area as vaccines are becoming more widely available restaurants, public spaces and social gatherings are starting to resume which has me thinking- how has this year plus long “pause” of society affected the way we interact with the common spaces we use to regularly inhabit?
A downtown area in particular, like the one these panels will be placed in, once was the foundation for routine foot traffic, business meetings, festivals, and other social gatherings. But will those “post-pandemic” relationships with these spaces reflect the relationship we had with them before? Or are they forever changed?
Roads, walkways, common areas, etc. How will our interaction with these spaces continue to evolve as we open back up? The layering of these abstracted paths will hopefully feel normal again one day.
But only time will tell.
Garner Art Around Town Project
“Art Around Town is a community art project for the residents of Garner and artists from surrounding areas to participate in a temporary art exhibit that will illustrate community and natural beauty and bring joy, healing, and civic engagement.
The art will be on display August through October 2021 at the following proposed pedestrian-friendly locations including Town Hall, Garner Senior Center, Garner Rec Center (GRC), Garner Performing Arts Center, and other locations around downtown and town parks.
Upon completion of the exhibit, the art will be auctioned with 75% of the proceeds going to the respective artists and 25% to DGA to benefit future art projects throughout the Town of Garner. The exact time, location, and date of the auction are yet to be determined but anticipated for November 2021.”
The above information was pulled from the Garner Public Art Artchives. Learn more about the project here.