The goal of StreetSpark is to showcase the creativity and vision of artists through high-quality mural designs, as well as present a diversity of artistic styles and perspectives throughout Hamilton. Jenn Acus-Smith, program manager for the StreetSpark Public Art program, said the program has increased the visibility of the arts in Hamilton and provides jobs to local working artists.
The program’s partners are the city of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation, which help with the funding of the project.
Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller said he appreciates StreetSpark and its mission “for brightening up the city through these murals, and educating our city. They all make a statement, they all say something.”
These five designs were chosen through a selection committee, which is made up of community members, artists and those who appreciate art, building owners, and other community stakeholders.
“They felt like these were the highest quality, and they really responded to the sites,” Acus-Smith said of the five designs, which were selected out of a field of 50 to 60 submissions. “There was a good variety. It was not easy to choose.”
Since 2016, the StreetSpark Public Art program has created 31 murals, 14 of which are on utility boxes, “so we’re creating quite a collection of work. It’s exciting to see more and more go into the neighborhoods.”
This year there will be two sides of businesses painted and three utility boxes. The building designs and locations are:
- Hamilton Lane Library, 300 N. Third St. in the German Village neighborhood. “Stream of Consciousness” by Anissa Pulcheon is scheduled to start after Memorial Day and take about three weeks to paint.
- Bartel’s Heating and Cooling, 939 Main St., in the Armondale neighborhood and the west side business district. It will also help celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary this year. “Bartels Butterflies” by Madeline Tipton is scheduled to start on June 18 and take about two weeks to create.
The three utility boxes are:
- “Colors of the River” by Sarah Hynfield, who’s graduating this year from the Miami Hamilton Community Arts program. This utility box is at the corner of North B and Rhea streets.
- “All Aboard!” by Hamilton High School senior Kiera Fisher will be at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Hanover Street. Fisher is a resident of the neighborhood and will work with a team of fellow high school students.
- “Windows for Hamilton” by Michelle Furr is at the corner of Pleasant and Hooven avenues in the Lindenwald neighborhood. She will work with her husband and two adult children to create this work of art.
Hamilton may not be the city of murals ― that designation belongs to the city of Steubenville ― but the city may have an argument for that title.
“Maybe we’re just a city of public art,” Acus-Smith said. Hamilton was declared and formally recognized as “The City of Sculpture” by then-Gov. Bob Taft in 2000, and has around 60 public sculptures around the city.
StreetSpark launched in the summer of 2016 with the mural of Alexander Hamilton by True West on Main Street. The program, which came out of a city of Hamilton committee, has been doing a couple of murals every summer since.
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