Celebrating its 40-year anniversary, the Maryland State Arts Council approved grants to five county arts councils for public art projects at its June 6 annual meeting. “We recognize public art as a significant element for community building and shaping landscapes,” said Theresa M. Colvin, executive director of the Arts Council. “These grants are also a salute to the launch of the Maryland Public Art Program and the Maryland Public Art Commission.”
The grantees must use their awards for permanent community-based public art that is accessible to the public. Work on these projects must begin before the end of this calendar year. Here are the five recipients and their projects:
• Arts Council of Anne Arundel County recieved a $5,000 grant to produce the “300 Tapestry Project” – designed by artists Gail Bolden and Hollis Minor – in collaboration with the Annapolis Community Foundation. When it’s completed, the tapestry will include 39 panels of varying sizes that depict historical landmarks and events tied to Annapolis at the time of its establishment, 300 years ago. People of all ages in the Annapolis community will be invited to work on this project, including individuals from 14 nonprofit groups and schools.
• Frederick Arts Council, Inc., received a $5,000 grant to fund “Baker Park Calf,” a life-sized bronze sculpture of a month-old calf that is grazing, by artist Adam C. Lubkin. The sculpture, which pays tribute to Frederick County agriculture, will be placed in a grassy area of a Frederick City park.
• Howard County Arts Council recieved a $3,970 grant to complete a sculptural bench project by artist Ginger Peloquin, located in the courtyard of the Howard County Center of the Arts. The project was commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Howard County Arts Council. The new funding provides for a more permanent and decorative patio area around the sculpted bench. Mosaic tiles created by people who participate in arts council activities, along with other clay tiles, will replace the pebbles and rocks used in the existing landscape.
• Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County recieved a $5,000 grant to produce way-finding elements and signage for the “Long Branch Walkway Bridge and Library Sidewalk Project” at the Long Branch Library and Community Center in Silver Spring. Two steel and concrete block wall columns designed with brick veneer and mosaic glass panels will reinforce the connection of the two city facilities and provide visual markers that guide visitors to the trail and bridge over Long Branch Creek. Artist Luann W. Korona is collaborating with the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
• Queen Anne’s County Arts Council, Inc., recieved a $4,000 grant to install “Front and Center,” a series of six ironwork panels that will add visual appeal and informative elements to the handicap-access ramp in the front of Centerville’s Centre for the Arts. Built in the 19th century, the building had been a church. Artist Robert Seely, in collaboration with Niki Pino, Sony Turner and Anne Nielsen, have planned to include panels that indicate the center’s name and address in cut metal, along with a whimsical depiction of fish swimming upstream.
