LEAP announced today, that three communities will be added to the growing list of municipalities participating in the LEAP Public Art for Communities grant program. The three communities that will receive funding are the City of Charlotte, the City of Lansing, and Delhi Township. A total of nineteen grants of $10,000 each from LEAP general fund has been awarded to place public art in strategic locations with visibility and potential business growth. PNC Foundation has been a strong supporter of the program, contributing $10,000 to the program this year as well as last year.
Each community that applies for the LEAP funding is required to adopt a public art policy or ordinance. The policies address issues of insurance and liability, and ongoing maintenance as well as the formation of an arts committee to work with artists and art pieces representing the community.
The City of Charlotte plans to place a piece of public art in the downtown on the corner of Cochran Avenue and W. Lovett St. The Saginaw Oakland Commercial Association (SOCA) was the applicant on behalf of the City of Lansing. SOCA plans to utilize these dollars to place a piece of public art as part of the Point West project on the western edge of the City. Delhi Township plans to place a piece of art on Aurelius Road near the township offices and the Holt Delhi Library.
The grantees announced today will have until October 31, 2016 to structure their programs, release their call for artists and construct and place their art piece. Each of the communities have prioritized the locations based on their own placemaking strategies, taking into consideration traffic patterns, both pedestrian and vehicular as well as the business case for attracting talent to their communities.
Steve Curran, President and Creative Director for Harvest Creative Services and Co-‐Chair of the LEAP Placemaking committee speaks to the high level of applicants. “Every year, this process becomes more and more difficult as the applicants are becoming very competitive. We are encouraging these communities to think about the big picture, when it comes to arts and culture, and they are definitely bringing these grand visions to the table in their proposals.”
“Public art and a strong arts and culture presence, in the Lansing region, represents a shift from our Michigan rust-‐belt image and will be a vital issue into the future as local companies attempt to keep and attract global talent and their families to our region and state,” added Bob Trezise, President and CEO of LEAP. “These pieces are having a huge impact and are contributing to the overall culture of each community as well as the overall metro Lansing area.”
Article submitted by LEAP.
