Roanoke, VA - The City of Roanoke has selected artists for three public art projects to be installed in the next few months.
Daniel Kuehl, a teacher at Breckinridge Middle School, will be creating six Little Free Libraries out of newspaper boxes donated by The Roanoke Times. The boxes will be placed in different areas around the city, and residents will be encouraged to take a book and leave a book for others to enjoy. According to Kuehl, his design “is about the energy and life of lines and color.” But he also had the idea of incorporating images familiar to Roanokers that “would create an ‘I Spy’ experience.” Kuehl also created Leaf, one of the sculptures that is part of AIR (Art in Roanoke), displayed on the Artwalk in Elmwood Park.
Brenda Councill of Councill Fine art studio has been selected to create a mural under the I-581 bridge at Tazewell Avenue which will serve as a gateway into and out of Southeast Roanoke. Gathering feedback from the neighborhood organizations in the area, she has created a design that includes local flora, historical elements and everyday activities which will be placed on the 18 columns underneath the bridge. Councill plans “painting days” where area residents can actually help her create the work. Councill is known for her large- scale murals and her work can be viewed at www.councill.net.
In another gateway project, David Caudill of Lexington Kentucky will be creating a sculpture to be located at the intersection of Patterson and Campbell Avenues. Titled, “Dancing with Time,” the art will be made of stainless steel with a bright red powder-coated base. Standing 18 feet tall, the stainless steel pieces at the top will be rolled in asymmetrical twists to present constantly flowing changes of view. The artist explains, “The surfaces are burnished in random patterns that reflect light from many different directions, yielding a sparkling view to viewers in motion.” His work can be viewed at www.caudillart.com.
The first two projects are funded through the city’s Percent for Art Program which dedicates one percent of the cost of certain capital improvement projects to public art. The West End Gateway project is funded by Community Development Block Grant funds dedicated to improvements in that area of the city.
The process for all three projects included vetting by community panels which consisted of neighborhood representatives, area business owners, artists, arts professionals, and Roanoke Arts Commission members.
For more information, contact Susan Jennings, Arts and Culture Coordinator, at 540-853-5652 or [email protected] .
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