ArtCentral is working on Linking Fences and Painted Crosswalks
By Elizabeth Freer
Matthews Opera House, ArtCentral Manager
ArtCentral is diving right in with exploring the creativity in our community. We are busy installing Linking Fences projects and preparing to paint a few crosswalks in town as well this summer.
We are excited to announce the selection of three artists through our Linking Fences “Call for Community Artists” process. Each artist will install artwork on Spearfish fences. Look forward to seeing more of our local artists work in our community this summer!
Cary Thrall, Cat Scratch Designs, will be installing a mixed media piece on a fence at the Spearfish Recreation and Aquatics Center titled “Community Unity, Mitakuye Oyasin: We Are All Related.” This piece will feature four panels depicting Mato Tipila (Devil’s Tower), Mato Paha (Bear Butte), Psaloka Paha Pinkpala (Crow Peak), and Iyowota’in Paha (Lookout Mountain).
Charla Stickland will be installing her art titled “Linking the Past to the Present to the Future” on the Spearfish Basketball Court fence near State and Elgin Streets. This piece will speak to the storytelling of the past and how we listen to find our future.
Jo Powell is creating “Jazz: Homage to Matisse” which will be installed on one side of the Tennis Court fence at City Park near Dakota and Canyon Streets. This project incorporates large painted figures and shapes that honor Matisse’s Jazz Series paintings.
We have a number of individuals, service clubs, and community groups, who are all in the process of creating Linking Fences projects. Earlier this spring, Creekside Elementary students painted about 30 wooden fish, one by each classroom, and in June, we will add one hundred more fish painted by BHSU’s GEAR UP program to the Creekside Elementary fence project.
ArtCentral hopes that everyone in the Spearfish community will take part in designing and constructing their own fence art at home and work. Fabrications promoting artistic interpretations of belonging, inclusion, encouragement, and unity are highly encouraged. Visit www.MatthewsOpera.com/community-lf/ for more information on how to participate. Take pictures of decorated fences around Spearfish this summer – one you’ve built or one you enjoy seeing – and share on social media, and use #LinkingFences hashtag. Biking and walking tours of registered Linking Fences will be planned for the fall. Register fences by sending us an email (address below). Express your individual creativity by putting together a Linking Fences project this summer!
ArtCentral is also busy working on a pilot project to paint crosswalks. The designs for crosswalks are being refined and – weather permitting – we plan to paint the crosswalk art in late June. We do need a few community volunteers to help us paint our artist-designed crosswalks using a “paint by number” method. If you can “paint within the lines” and are interested in being a part of the project, please send an email by June 9th to ArtCentral@MatthewsOpera.com.
ArtCentral is a community collaboration, funded by a 2016 Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant, to centralize the arts as an integrated asset for inclusivity, economic development, and outreach in Spearfish. As this is a community-based project, we welcome feedback and suggestions, as well as volunteers. Please contact us by email atArtCentral@MatthewsOpera.com.
Lead by Elizabeth Freer, ArtCentral manager at The Matthews, the project brings together a committee of advocates, artists, and residents working together over two years to create a new model for arts planning and outreach, focusing on the themes of belonging, inclusion, equity, rural connectedness, cultivating creativity, imagining space, and the arts as a community development catalyst.
“I am excited for this opportunity to work in Spearfish with The Matthews on this innovative and important project to advance the arts in our community,” stated Freer. “I encourage local residents who are interested in participating in this process to apply to be a part of the committee.”
