All About the Arts
Story by: Laura Vosejpka,
Executive Director of Creative 360 and Co-Chair of Public Arts Midland
Art Seen Festival Murals: The Fox, Jazzmyn Benitez & Dacia Parker.
Together. Forward. Bold., Selena Bender, Jazzmyn Benitez, Dacia Parker.
Home (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow), Maddison Chaffer.
If I asked you to give me examples of sites that make Midland unique – places and spaces that you might take visitors to show them something that is only in Midland – what might you suggest?
Maybe Dow Gardens. Chippewa Nature Center. The Alden B. Dow Home & Studio. Santa House. Dahlia Hill. MATRIX Midland. Teenage Musical Inc performances. The M-20 Bridge Mural.The Tridge.
What these have in common is that they are wonderful examples of Public Art.
The Dahlia Hill Society: Autumn, by Charles Breed.
The Tridge.
M-20 Bridge Mural: Joey Salmon and Cam DeCaussin.
Public art, in general, is any artwork created in any way that is intended specifically for a public space. Public art can be temporary or permanent: it is usually free or low cost, created with the intention of public interaction, and designed as an integral part of the physical landscape of a community.
Public art can include murals, sculpture, memorials, architectural or landscape work, community art, digital media, and even performances and festivals! Everything we listed above… and more!
Now that I have you thinking, I bet that there are all kinds of examples you can add to the list –that are beautiful, accessible public arts in Midland. These places, spaces, and events matter– a lot! And for so many more reasons than that they make Midland unique and beautiful.
For one, public art allows us, as a city and county, to break the trends of cookie-cutter blandness and to create a strong sense of place that reflects our particular community and its identity. Sometimes this is very literal – like the M-20 bridge mural or the mural near Riverside and Dow Diamond downtown. Sometimes it is historical, like the Alden Dow Home & Studio or the Founder’s Garden sculpture park honoring the legacy of Herbert H. Dow. And at its very best, public art becomes iconic, putting your city on the map – think the St. Louis Arch or The Picasso in Chicago. Midland’s Tridge or Santa House are great examples of this.
Midland’s Santa House.
Painted Piano Project: Roxy Kilbourn.
Outside the Box, painted utility box: Trish Donnelly.
Public art also helps us to celebrate our identity as well as that of others. Art is made by people who are influenced by everything around them so it cannot help but represent the lives of the members of the community. We can see ourselves reflected in social spaces and we can consider our connection to others and to our community as a whole. When you walk past a painted utility box, a mural, or a garden and stop to admire and enjoy it, you are becoming a part of a group that has a shared aesthetic. In this way, public art creates both a sense of belonging and a way to understand others, encouraging us to pay attention and to learn about the physical and social spaces that surround us.
Public art can challenge us to see Midland in different ways. It offers us a chance to think about new ideas in a way that is free of the media, social pressures and other external noises. It causes us to ask questions, share stories, act, and reflect on our community and ourselves. Consider the mural on the side of the Emergency Food Pantry that reads People Helping People. It is a reminder, a thank you, a statement of our values. And it brings beauty to an otherwise empty space.
People Helping People Mural at the Midland County Emergency Food Pantry: Jazzmyn Benitez, Gessica Garber, Dacia Parker, and Meghan Richardson.
The Ashman Plaza Mural: Mark Piotrowski
Herbert Henry Dow: Omri Amrany and Lou Cella.
Public art also invites ALL of us into the world of the artist. We have the opportunity to engage with a larger than life work of art outside of the confines of a museum or gallery, some of which are not even accessible to the average citizen due to cost or transportation constraints. In Midland, we even have to chance to help create! The Art Seen mural festival, the public mural at Creative 360, Mural Blast, the Painted Piano Project, and River Rock Painting at Riverdays have given every resident of the county a chance to help create public art and engage with the designing artists. There are so many ways for emerging and established artists to get involved – last year’s painted utility box project saw entries from artists of every age and experience level. This year’s public arts project will continue that great tradition.
Public Arts Midland Rock Painting at River Days 2022
Public Arts Midland Rock Painting at River Days 2023
Finally, public art is good for the economy! People love to visit energetic, beautiful public spaces and this is great for local businesses. Young people want to move to cities that have a dynamic cultural scene. When public art is incorporated into hospitals, airports, playgrounds and other large, busy spaces, the experience can be transformed from the mundane to the magical. And who doesn’t love a little magic?
How’s that for the power of public art? And here you thought it was just another pretty mural. It truly is so much more.
Public Arts Midland is an initiative of the Midland Area Community Foundation whose mission is to help people create connections through public art. We believe that art connects, heals, inspires, teaches and speaks to us in ways that build stronger and more vibrant communities.
You can learn more and access our county wide Public Art Scavenger Hunt at publicartsmidland.org.
Do you have a Midland County story you would like to tell that aligns with our vision?