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Take a tour and hear the story behind Seeing Spartanburg in A New Light

If you haven't yet toured Spartanburg's public art exhibition, Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light, here's your chance to do so and get the inside scoop from the creative team behind the project. The Chapman Cultural Center is hosting a two-day celebration of Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light beginning February 16 with a panel discussion and Q&A featuring the creative team involved with the project. The program continues February 17 with a tour by trolley of all nine installations, led by project artist Erwin Redl, and concludes with a presentation and reception back at the Chapman Cultural Center. Guests can take advantage of a discounted rate at the Spartanburg Marriott, conveniently located across the street from the Chapman Cultural Center. There will also be access to other local cultural institutions and exhibitions. One of four recipients of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light is a large-scale public art exhibition that features nine original artworks by renown light and media artist Erwin Redl installed throughout 10 neighborhoods in Spartanburg. This project is an unprecedented partnership between Spartanburg's Chapman Cultural Center, Mayor Junie White, and the Police Department to use public art as a platform for building stronger relationships between local residents and police officers. Please RSVP by February 10, 2017 to Renee Denton at info@seeingspartanburg.com or (864) 278-9685. Via: Chapman Cultural Center

Light and digital media artist ready to unveil public art installations in Spartanburg

The public is invited to Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light art installations taking place Oct. 4 beginning at 4:30 p.m. Full schedule listed below. SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Award-winning light and digital media artist Erwin Redl will unveil nine public art installations in Spartanburg, S.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 4 as a part of Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. For more than a year, Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light has been building relationships between police officers and communities through a collaborative art-making process. The installations will be illuminated in conjunction with National Night Out events across 10 city neighborhoods, starting with a celebration at 4:30 p.m. at Mobile Suspension downtown in Denny’s Plaza, 203 E. Main St. Composed of five curtains of semi-transparent acrylic panes – nearly 7,000 in total – Mobile Suspension (pictured above) is the result of Redl’s creative design and the collective efforts of residents and police officers who volunteered to assemble the large-scale installation. During the day, sunlight will shine through the mobile, casting colors onto the ground like stained glass. At night, LED lights provided by Hubbell Lighting Inc. in Greenville, S.C. will illuminate the mobile from below. The Oct. 4 event will feature music, food and comments from Spartanburg Mayor Junie White; Jennifer Evins, CEO of the Chapman Cultural Center; Spartanburg Police Chief Alonzo Thompson and neighborhood residents, who will talk about the year-long effort to revitalize the city through art. The illumination of each installation will coincide with a neighborhood celebration at the site, ending with a grand finale at 8:30 p.m. at Glow at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, 350 Howard St., Spartanburg, S.C. See below for a schedule of the Oct. 4 celebration. “By bringing site-specific art into Spartanburg neighborhoods where residents may feel isolated from traditional cultural assets, this project is already fostering greater understanding of both the artistic process and the transformative impact of public art,” said Jennifer Evins, president and CEO of the Chapman Cultural Center. “We are eliminating barriers as residents become part of the artistic process and help translate ideas into works of art.” In 2015, the City of Spartanburg was selected as one of four communities to participate in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, a new program to support temporary public art projects that celebrate creativity, enhance urban identity, encourage public-private partnerships, and drive economic development. The temporary art project, funded by $1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, with supplemental funding provided by regional institutions, corporations, foundations and private donors, is a partnership among Redl, the Chapman Cultural Center, the City of Spartanburg and civic leadership. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFJP1yJsiAg Redl, whose art installations have illuminated spaces worldwide, has been working with neighborhood residents and community leaders for more than a year to bring the project to life. The artist said each installation is tailored to its environment and that the scale, medium and design vary significantly, ranging from workshop-based video and smaller light installations to large-scale illuminations of two smokestacks. “Different structures lead to different aesthetic explorations and community engagement possibilities,” Redl said. “Alternative structures lead to alternative results. Change is inevitable, and, through this process, we begin to see Spartanburg in a new light.” Mayor White said the efforts of Redl and all of those across the community to bring Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light to life are already bearing fruit. "The night of Oct. 4 is going to be a great night in the history of our community,” said Spartanburg Mayor Junie White. “Something special is happening in Spartanburg right now. Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light is symbolic of what is happening here, and I can't wait to see the lights come on for everyone." Oct. 4 schedule of installations: Mobile Suspension, Downtown Spartanburg

  • Denny’s Plaza, 203 E. Main St.
  • Lights On – 4:30-6 p.m. Oct. 4
Five multicolored mobile curtains float above the center lawn of Denny’s Plaza, located in the heart of Spartanburg’s Downtown Cultural District. Each curtain is 51 feet long and 12 feet high and consists of a woven pattern of translucent acrylic 4-inch by 4-inch squares. The installation was designed to create a dazzling visual experience that changes depending on the time of day, the viewer’s position, and weather conditions. The five shimmering curtains are made of multicolored acrylic squares installed in specific patterns designed by the artist. Community volunteers assembled the curtains over a one-month period using specially designed clips. The rectangular shape of the site gave Redl an opportunity to play with subtle variations within a grid. The artist is interested in creating unique visceral sensations for viewers, and Mobile Suspension offers a kaleidoscopic experience that is fresh with each new encounter. River Poetry, Andrews Farm and Converse Heights
  • Cottonwood Trail, 1038 Woodburn Road
  • Lights On – 5:45 p.m.
Here, artist Erwin Redl provides an opportunity for visitors to contemplate the role of technology in our lives within a nature preserve. Located between Converse Heights and Andrews Farm neighborhoods, the Cottonwood Trail is a 116-acre urban greenspace with 4 1/2 miles of trails, and is owned and maintained by the Spartanburg Area Conservancy, a membership-based nonprofit organization. By juxtaposing LED displays similar to those used by restaurants and gas stations against the solitude of a meandering creek, the artist creates a tangible demonstration that nature and digital technology can coexist. The project presents local poetry displayed on 12 double-sided LED signs suspended above the Cottonwood Trail. Visitors can read the lines of poetry overhead as they walk along Lawson’s Fork Creek. The layered poetry dimension allows for the community to provide their thoughts, observations, and feelings about nature within this dynamic human/nature system created by the artist. The Hub City Writers Project will curate an ongoing series of poems for River Poetry through March 2017. Under One Roof, South Converse
  • Picnic Shelter, 440 S. Converse St.
  • Lights On – 6:10 p.m.
This park has special meaning to South Converse residents as a sign of local pride and a link to the past. The local neighborhood association fought hard to get this park funded and completed. Touched by the story of the park’s origin, and inspired by the evident pride in the place, Redl decided to use this picnic shelter to demonstrate the transformative power of turning something ordinary into something extraordinary. Residents have attended workshops to learn how to install and program the LED lighting for the shelter. Redl hopes local residents will want to create special light programs for dances, poetry slams, cookouts, or other events in and around the shelter. By using a simple picnic shelter as the basic structure within which many things can happen, and by involving the local community, Redl has tangibly illustrated that we are all indeed together under one roof. Islands of Light, Maxwell Hills
  • Duncan Park Lake, 293 West Park Drive
  • Lights On – 6:30 p.m.
Redl explores the fertile intersection of art, nature and technology with this installation of eight floating islands recalling the image of cattails or reeds swaying with the breeze in an aquatic environment. The scale of the site was particularly interesting to the artist, as it allowed for interactions among water, wind, and sky in addition to light and reflection. The logistical challenges of the project were first taken on by students from Daniel Morgan Technology Center. After meeting with the artist and an engineer, these young technicians created a working prototype, which became the blueprint for the finished islands. A local dock builder was engaged to install these light-topped atolls. The local waterfowl have officially adopted these islands of light. Benchmark Spartanburg, Forest Park
  • CC Woodson Recreation Center, 210 Bomar Avenue
  • Lights On – 6:55 p.m.
Benches are for sitting, yes, but they can also be a site for romance, business deals, creative pastimes or great conversations. Redl has created a chromatically pulsating bench that he hopes will invite community gatherings, poetry readings and other events that make use of the mesmerizing patterns and shifting color palette. The multiple RGB LED side-lit acrylic panels that make up the bench create an almost cinematic experience, saturating the surrounding environment with gradually morphing gradations of color. Spartanburg Swing, Hampton Heights
  • National Beta Headquarters, 267 S. Spring St.
  • Lights On – 7:15 p.m.
Twenty-six four-foot-long pendulums are evenly distributed across the glass facade of the National Beta Headquarters building. Their slow one-second pulse animates the surface of the concrete and glass structure. Mixing the simple physics of a pendulum with the off-the-shelf electronics of a small fan and flashlight LED, Spartanburg Swing creates a complex choreography. This kinetic work is controlled by small microprocessors that turn the fans and the lights on and off in intervals programmed by the artist. The pulsing movement is created entirely by intermittent fan bursts and the constant tug of gravity. The site is the international headquarters of National Beta, whose purpose is "to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, leadership, and service among elementary and secondary school students." Headquartered in Spartanburg, the organization has more than 8,750 clubs nationally and internationally. The Hampton Heights neighborhood, comprised of homes built between the 1880s and the 1920s, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Video Village, Highland Neighborhood
  • Cammie Clagget Apartments, 317 Highland Avenue
  • Lights On – 7:35 p.m.
The artist decided he wanted to turn these empty buildings in the Cammie Clagget apartment complex inside out, transforming the now-vacant units into lanterns that face outward to tell their stories and cast their light into the surrounding community. The artist is interested in reanimating these empty spaces as a way to draw our attention to the question of impermanence and what might be possible for the future. Playing with the dual meaning of the word projection, Redl created a 52-channel video screen and directed White Elephant Enterprises and the Spartanburg Art Museum to curate the content for the installation. The selected videos feature a variety of topics but focus on stories of and about the residents of this historic neighborhood. The curators established a media production studio within the nearby Bethlehem Center to facilitate interviews with residents and to collect vintage home-movie footage and digitize family photographs from the community. The artist hopes to jump-start enthusiasm within the community for making videos of all kinds and sharing them in the public square. Glow, Beaumont Village and Northside
  • Beaumont smokestack, 400 Beaumont Avenue
  • Lights On – 8:05 p.m.
  • Northside smokestack, 350 Howard St.
  • Lights On and grand finale celebration – 8:30 p.m.
Both of the mill properties owned by Spartan Mills today serve new purposes, one as the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and the other as the administrative offices of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. Originally constructed by master builder Thomas Badgett, these two colossal smokestack structures were built in the late nineteenth century out of locally made brick. Edifices such as these, in the heart of mill villages, have historical relevance and serve as symbols of adaptation and change. Redl has chosen to treat the smokestacks as two synchronized, large-scale canvases for high-powered multicolored lights that bathe the surface of the worn bricks. For the artist, these artworks offer a new way of seeing old structures. About the Artist Born in Austria in 1963, Erwin Redl finished his studies at the Vienna Music Academy with two degrees, a BA in Composition (1990) and BA in Electronic Music (1991). He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for graduate studies in computer art at the School of Visual Arts, in New York City (MFA 1995). Redl investigates the process of “reverse engineering” by (re-)translating the abstract aesthetic language of virtual reality and 3D computer modeling into architectural environments by means of large-scale light installations. For the 2002 Whitney Biennial, the artist covered the Whitney Museum’s facade with three multicolor LED veils. In 2008 he created a sound and light installation in the Austrian Pavilion at the World Expo in Zaragoza, Spain. The Pacific Design Center’s new Red Building by Cesar Pelli features four permanent installations by the artist, completed in 2013. Redl’s largest work to date is a computer-controlled, 580-foot-long-LED-installation at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, completed in 2010. Redl’s work is owned by prestigious national and international institutions, among them the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; the Milwaukee Art Museum; and Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul; as well as by private collectors. For more information, www.paramedia.net. About the Chapman Cultural Center The mission of the Chapman Cultural Center is to provide cultural leadership for Greater Spartanburg by developing, strengthening, and promoting the scope, excellence and educational role of the arts, humanities, and sciences, and to further their significance in the life of our community and all of its citizens. Founded in 1968 with a current budget of $2.1 million, the Chapman Cultural Center is the oldest and largest countywide arts agency in the state of South Carolina and is serving as the lead arts agency and project manager for Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light. About the Public Art Challenge & Bloomberg Philanthropies The City of Spartanburg was selected in 2015 as one of four temporary public art projects from across the United States to receive a grant award from the first-ever Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. Other winning cities are Gary, IN, Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY, and Los Angeles, CA. Full information on all projects can be found at publicartchallenge.bloomberg.org. Bloomberg Philanthropies works in more than 120 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed over half a billion dollars. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.

Artist shares designs that will show Spartanburg ‘in a new light’

From the Spartanburg Herald Journal Article by Alyssa Mulliger

Illuminated smokestacks, colorful suspended mobiles and floating light islands are a few of the special installations coming to 10 city neighborhoods as part of the Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light initiative. Spartanburg and three other cities were selected out of 230 applicants nationwide to receive up to $1 million to develop light installations for the temporary art project supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. Over the past few months, Ohio-based artist Erwin Redl has worked with community members and neighborhood associations in Andrews Farm, Beaumont Village, Converse Heights, Downtown Spartanburg, Forest Park, Hampton Heights, Highland, Maxwell Hills/Duncan Park, Northside and South Converse to design and develop the LED light installations. “You have to engage (the community) to make it meaningful to them,” Redl said. “We had to find compromise and take (their) input not as a critique, but as an inspiration. With this grant, we have the opportunity to basically alter the landscape of Spartanburg.” Redl presented the design concepts Monday night to Spartanburg City Council, which gave its final approval. All projects will be completed by Oct. 4, 2016, when the lights will be lit in conjunction with National Night Out. In the Northside and Beaumont Village, Redl has plans to illuminate the old Spartan Mills smokestack at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and the one at the former Beaumont Mill. The structures will be covered in a checkerboard pattern of blue and white fabric attached at the top of each smokestack. On the ground, programmable LED flood lights will light the smokestacks with different color sequences at night. The fabric will reflect light better than the brick on the smokestacks, Redl said. While some of the projects are self-contained, like the smokestacks, Redl said others will be more neighborhood-based. In the Highland neighborhood, residents will help create a “video village” by filming short clips that will be projected onto second-story windows of vacant housing structures. The installation will involve more than 50 synchronized screens that will put life back into the buildings, Redl said. Other neighborhood installations include transparent color swatches assembled into large-scale mobiles and suspended above a downtown lot; a light bench with multiple, individually programmable light panels placed near C.C. Woodson Recreation Center in Forest Park; a kinetic light installation with 26 pendulums mounted behind the north side of the National Beta headquarters in Hampton Heights; eight floating light islands in the center of Duncan Park Lake; colored LED lights attached to the underside of the picnic shelter at the north entrance of South Converse Street Park; and a joint project with Andrews Farm and Converse Heights involving LED signs with scrolling poetry suspended over Lawson’s Fork Creek on the Cottonwood Trail. Jennifer Evins, president and CEO of Chapman Cultural Center, said the lights will stay lit from six months to six years, depending on the installation. “It will be transformative as a light art project, but it’s also the process of relationships that we’ve built," she said. "It’s using art as a catalyst to address important issues that are facing the city." Several of the city’s police officers were part of the selection committee that chose the installation sites. Spartanburg Police Chief Alonzo Thompson said the light projects will help transform the city to enhance its livability and vitality. “This is a proactive, positive collaboration with the police and the community overall with these pieces of art that are going to be symbolic of our commitment to our city and to each other,” Thompson said. “We want people to come and live in our city, visit our city and we think you’ll like what you see once we show it to you in a new light.”
Image: Artist rendition of Video Village, one of nine art projects that are part of Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Spartanburg selects 10 locations for public art installations

All 10 neighborhoods that applied to take part in Seeing Spartanburg In A New Light have been selected to participate in the project, according to an announcement by Spartanburg Mayor Junie White. Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light is a temporary public art project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies through its Public Art Challenge initiative. In October 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies invited mayors to collaborate with artists and arts organizations to develop innovative temporary public art projects that engage communities, enhance creativity, and enrich the vibrancy of cities. More than 230 U.S. cities submitted proposals, and Bloomberg Philanthropies selected Spartanburg as one of four cities to receive up to $1 million to develop temporary public art projects. Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light is a partnership among artist Erwin Redl, The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, and the city of Spartanburg. Redl is collaborating with the city’s police department and participating neighborhood associations to design and develop LED light installations that transform open spaces and create more vibrant neighborhoods. The project builds on the momentum of National Night Out, an annual event that promotes crime prevention efforts, police-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie. By bringing site-specific art into neighborhoods, the project will foster greater understanding of both the artistic process and the transformative impact of public art. “Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light is providing a great opportunity for our communities to work together on a project that has the capacity to truly transform our city,” said Mayor White. “I look forward to seeing how this project engages our citizens and police department as they create a unique experience that can be shared by everyone.” While originally intending to select only five neighborhoods, Redl and the selection committee chose to support all 10 proposals from these neighborhoods:

  • Beaumont Village
  • Downtown Spartanburg
  • Forest Park
  • Hampton Heights
  • Highland Neighborhood
  • Maxwell Hills/Duncan Park
  • Northside
  • South Converse
  • Andrews Farm & Converse Heights will participate in a joint installation on the Cottonwood Trail that connects both
The selection committee, comprised of city officials and arts experts, carefully reviewed each neighborhood's written submission, interviewed each group and conducted extensive site visits. Submissions were evaluated on a number of factors, including potential for community engagement, site accessibility, and feasibility to host a work of art. Beginning in December 2015, Redl will collaborate with the selected neighborhood associations to design and develop the light installations. The design process will take approximately three months, with the fabrication and installation scheduled for April through July 2016. The installations will be unveiled at National Night Out on Aug. 2, 2016, and will remain open to the public through 2017. “Working with the Spartanburg community has been such an inspiring experience,” said Redl. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore the city’s extensive creative resources and work with such talented neighborhoods in designing installations that I hope will engage the community in a meaningful way.” More information about Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light can be found at www.cityofspartanburg.org/new-light. About The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg The mission of The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, Inc. is to provide cultural leadership for Greater Spartanburg by developing, strengthening, and promoting the scope, excellence, and educational role of the arts, humanities, and sciences, and to further their significance in the life of our community and all of its citizens. Founded in 1968 with a current budget of $2.1 million, The Arts Partnership is the oldest and largest countywide arts agency in the state of South Carolina and is serving as the lead arts agency and project manager for Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light. About the Artist Erwin Redl is an Austrian-born digital artist who currently lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. In 1993, after his studies at the Vienna Music Academy, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for computer art studies at School of Visual Arts, New York, (MFA 1995). He lived in New York from 1993-2007 and moved to rural Ohio in 2007. Redl was featured as part of the 2002 Whitney Biennial, when he covered the museum’s facade with LED veils. He created a sound and light installation for the Austrian Pavilion at the World Expo in Zaragoza, Spain (2008). The Pacific Design Center’s Red Building in Los Angeles features four installations by the artist (2013). His largest work is a 590 ft. long outdoor LED-installation at the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio (2010). The artist’s work is collected by prominent institutions, such as the Whitney Museum New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Milwaukee Art Museum and Borusan Contemporary Istanbul, as well as by many private collectors. About Bloomberg Philanthropies Bloomberg Philanthropies’ mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Public Health, Environment, Education, Government Innovation and the Arts. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $462 million. For more information on the philanthropy, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.

Spartanburg wins Bloomberg Philanthropies grant for public art

The City of Spartanburg, in partnership with The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, has been awarded up to $1,000,000 from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of its Public Art Challenge, a new program aimed at supporting temporary public art projects that engage communities, enhance creativity, and enrich the vibrancy of cities. (Related: Spartanburg named finalist for public art grant.) From Bloomberg Philanthropies:

In October 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies invited U.S. mayors to collaborate with artists and arts organizations on developing innovative public art projects that engage residents and attract visitors. After receiving 237 applications that covered a wide range of local and civic issues, Bloomberg Philanthropies selected four winning projects to receive up to $1 million each as part of the Public Art Challenge – a new program aimed at supporting temporary public art projects that celebrate creativity, enhance urban identity, encourage public-private partnerships, and drive economic development. The four selected cities are: Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, NY, which proposed a collaborative project; Gary, IN; Los Angeles, CA; and Spartanburg, SC. https://youtu.be/0aHSa0q2UA8   Learn more about how each project intends to use public art to transform their city:
  • Albany, Schenectady and Troy, NY – Breathing Lights
Through a collaborative effort, the cities of Albany, Schenectady and Troy, plan to illuminate up to 300 vacant homes over several months. Working with lead artist Adam Frelin, lead architect Barbara Nelson, and more than 25 community and private sector partners, including the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, this multi-site installation aims to regenerate interest in once-vibrant neighborhoods that currently have high vacancy rates. This consortium will culminate the project with a regional summit on vacant homes and abandoned buildings to engage local residents, prospective buyers and investors, and policymakers. 
  • Gary, IN – ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen
The City of Gary will transform a vacant downtown building into a cultural hub that showcases visual and culinary arts. ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen is a partnership with artist Theaster Gates and the City to create a civic center that features three commissioned works of visual art, offers culinary training, and provides cultural programming that uses food as a medium for community engagement.  The City will use this public space as a catalyst to develop a cultural district and promote urban revitalization. 
  • Los Angeles, CA – CURRENT: LA River
The City of Los Angeles will commission up to 15 multidisciplinary artworks and public programs that focus on the city’s environmental concerns and engage residents for its inaugural Public Art Biennial. These installations will include locations alongside the Los Angeles River as well as other sites throughout Los Angeles, increasing awareness of the city’s need for water conservation. 
  • Spartanburg, SC – Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light
The City of Spartanburg is planning temporary art installations on city-owned public spaces in five targeted neighborhoods. The project builds on National Night Out, an annual event that promotes crime prevention efforts, police-community partnership and neighborhood camaraderie. Artist Erwin Redl is collaborating with the city’s police and fire departments, and neighborhood associations selected through a competitive process, to design and develop LED light installations that transform open spaces and create safer, more vibrant neighborhoods. We congratulate the winning cities, and look forward to partnering with them as each project takes shape over the next 24 months. Please join us in watching as the projects develop at publicartchallenge.bloomberg.org.  

Spartanburg named finalist for public art grant

From the Spartanburg Herald-Journal Story by Daniel J. Gross
spartanburgnight300Spartanburg has been named one of 12 finalists for a $1 million grant for public art.
Los Angeles, Atlanta and Albuquerque, N.M. also made the list, whittled down from more than 260 initial submissions. For Hub City, that funding would be used for five to seven temporary “light art” installations throughout the city. The initiative is to promote safety and vibrancy, coinciding with the annual National Night Out, which draws communities together to take a stand against crime. Jennifer Evins, president of The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, spearheaded the application to Bloomberg Philanthropies, a charitable giving organization founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The $1 million grant is for public art projects that address civic topics. “At a time when imaginative ideas are redefining every industry, cities increasingly realize how important it is to embrace and encourage creativity,” Bloomberg said in a statement released Thursday. “There was a great response to the challenge we issued, and we hope these projects spur new excitement about the ways public art can strengthen neighborhoods, inspire residents and fuel local economies.” Evins said with Spartanburg as a finalist, she and others in the city will work closely to formulate a more in-depth grant application that focuses on how the project will be implemented and the benefits gleamed from it. “To be in the national forefront with arts and public safety, it shows you how relevant the arts community is that it's open to arts being a solution to things like crime prevention,” Evins said. Evins selected Australia native and artist Erwin Redl to create the light installations for local public spaces. He is currently based out of Ohio, and his work can be seen in cities such as Charlotte, N.C., Toronto, New York, Pittsburgh and Istanbul. The grant would bring the artist to Spartanburg to work with selected neighborhoods within the city on how each art installation would be presented. She said the residents would make the artist aware of specifics that make their neighborhood unique so that themes would be incorporated into the work. Evins said adding light in public spaces reduces crime in dark areas and promotes safety. “It's projects like this that bring people out of their homes, and they meet each other,” Evins said. “It's about citizens being actively involved in a project. It's so much about community policing and part of public safety and crime prevention.” She said the installations would be created beginning in July and unveiled during the National Night Out event in April 2016. National Night Out historically has been a call to residents in cities and towns across the country to turn on their porch lights and take a stand against criminal activity. Evins partnered with the Spartanburg Police Department and other city departments while crafting the grant application. Deputy Chief Jennifer Kindall said she is thrilled that Spartanburg is a finalist. “It's just another opportunity to engage, and it's a wonderful thing with the idea of having it tie in with National Night Out,” Kindall said. “Of course, you know, one of the main emphasis on National Night Out is encouraging residents to turn on porch lights as a symbol that they're making a statement to take a stand against crime.” The Bloomberg Philanthropies grant winner will be named in June. If Spartanburg is selected, the light art would remain on display for six to nine months, Evins said. Will Rothschild, a spokesman for the city of Spartanburg, said the distinction as a finalist among other major cities has brought excitement. “Bloomberg Philanthropies is a very big deal,” Rothschild said. “To be one of 12 finalists in a challenge that included a couple hundred applicants is impressive. We're excited about it, and I hope that we can pull this thing off.”

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