Public Art
N. College Avenue Mural
Engaging a moment of calm for the onlooker is priority one - prompting the driver enough to slow them down, but not distract. Something to look forward to while beginning your commute. It’s a functional aesthetic signaling that you’re entering a walk-able community, reflecting the City of Fayetteville’s goal of a safe passageway for pedestrians (and their animal friends).
Each circle represents the human layers that connect us all. The meditating figure inspires us to reflect and reveals how her positive energy balances the hurried movement of the street, with the fox as her protector.
The theme of the mural is “Nature doesn’t hurry yet everything still gets done.”
How do you touch millions of hearts 7 seconds at a time? The colors of nature and simple shapes create a calming, therapeutic effect. Vibrant colors represent a thriving ecosystem with imagery that represents a reflective culture. This mural will become a part of our history, our folk, our expression of who we are as a community, yet it doesn’t impose on its natural surroundings. It enhances without adding to the chaos of high traffic. -Matt Miller, artist
Details about why the mural was painted, how the artist was selected and additional information about the the artist, Matt Miller and his concept, can be found in Legistar File ID 2017-0725 (Staff Memo and Review Form).
Tsa La Gi Trail Mural
This mural focuses on the culture, traditions and strength of the Cherokee people. Bates painted Cherokee hands near the ground to show the need to grasp tightly to their lands while being forced out. The hands are holding onto the feather wand because she feels that it represents the Cherokee, desperately holding onto their important traditions, as well as trying to hold onto their strength (the golden eagle feathers). The wand is used during many Cherokee events, including the eagle dance, when the eagle spirit is welcomed after an eagle is killed. Seven golden eagle tail feathers are used when making making the feather wand. Of the seven feathers, four are painted whole and the others are partial - representing those Cherokee that passed on during the journey.
In the background, there will be a detailed pattern, using inspiration from the Cherokee rivercane baskets. Baskets were used for gathering, storing, transporting and food preparation. The women were said to create these baskets with no preparation or pattern; they wove them so tightly that some baskets could hold water - representing the strength of the Cherokee during this terrible time while walking the Trail of Tears.
Details about why the mural was painted, how the artist was selected and additional information about the the artist, Stacy Bates and her concept, can be found in Resolution No. 119-17.
Fayetteville Art Walk Interactive Map
Find public art installations around the City. Interactive app lets you browse by map or by image, and zoom into the location.
Utility Box Beautification
Since 2013, Fayetteville artists have been beautifying our community by turning utility boxes into works of art. It has been extremely successful at discouraging graffiti, tagging and vandalism on city-owned utility light-signal boxes. The project is managed by the Keep Fayetteville Beautiful Committee, the Recycling and Trash Collections Division and the Community Policing Division of the Fayetteville Police Department.
The City issues a public Call for Artist Proposals via press release and social media about once a year for this project and typically selects 4-5 traffic-light utility boxes to be painted for each call. Artists’ proposals should reflect the themes of recycling or waste reduction, abstract art, Fayetteville history, or nature. Stipends are available for artists and funds are allotted for supplies.
For additional information, please contact Heather Ellzey: hellzey@fayetteville-ar.gov.
Collaborations
Topo Map for School Avenue
Topo Map for School Avenue (2018) is a site-specific public artwork commissioned by the City of Fayetteville and Walton Arts Center with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Artist Stacy Levy; with installation assistance from Custom Pavement Maintenance and Safety of Van Buren, volunteers, and Fenix Fayetteville artists; completed the four-block-long installation in May 2018 for the Walton Arts Center's Artosphere Festival.
The artwork meets two goals of the Fayetteville Arts Council Action Plan. One is to incorporate functional art into municipal infrastructure. Levy’s Topo Map for School Avenue is a visual education tool, reminding viewers of stormwater issues in Fayetteville’s hilly landscape. Levy uses thermoplastic materials to create a life-size topographic map on School Avenue between Dickson and Mountain Streets. Markings of multiple colors represent micro gradients, indicating steepness and where stormwater, from rain or ice/snow, travels and collects on the impervious asphalt street. The public artwork also meets the second goal, to leverage the Cultural Arts District, by adding to the existing cultural amenities in the area and attracting tourists.
In 2013, the City of Fayetteville, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas Community Design Center and the Walton Arts Center, applied for and received a $100,000 Our Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Our Town Grants fund creative placemaking projects. A proof of concept for a streetscape project was created with the grant funds. Information in the Walkscapes From Sidewalks to Rooms: A Complete Street for School Avenue report shows how the City and stakeholders successfully meet the NEA grant program goals to “lay the groundwork for systemic changes that sustain the integration of arts, culture and design into strategies for strengthening communities by advancing local economic, physical and/or social outcomes.”
Upstream Art: Storm Drain Murals for Water Quality
This unique and engaging educational program utilizes art to communicate the function and importance of storm drains. UpStream Art gives artists the opportunity to express themselves with semi-permanent public art in the form of a small-scale outdoor storm drain mural. The purpose of UpStream Art is to draw attention to the usually discreet concrete and iron infrastructure with the hope that observers stop and think about where the water flows after it enters a storm drain. If residents understand that stormwater flows untreated to creeks, streams, rivers and lakes, then they will be more conscious of potential pollutants that can enter those waterways. The project was lead by water quality experts from Northwest Arkansas Stormwater Education and the University of Arkansas's Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. As a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permittee, the City of Fayetteville is required by the Federal Clean Water Act to educate the public about community stewardship of water resources with emphasis on long-term solutions to stormwater pollution.