The Rochester (NH) Public Library wanted to create a meaningful display at their library to support the Black Lives Matter Movement, but upon hearing a news report featuring a Black Lives matter organizer, the interim director, Marie LeJeun, started thinking about all the voices that may be overlooked and undervalued. Thus the idea for a display called “Unconsidered Voices; Enduring Stories,” was born. Once the library realized the display included all collections: Nonfiction, fiction, YA, and children’s; they decided they wanted a large art piece with the same theme since it was related to all the collections in the library. They contacted Kathy Mallat, an artist, children’s book author and former library employee to design and complete the mural from a general description of using several figures of different races, ages, and genders.

This mural has a timeless design and yet is the perfect representation of the year 2020 and all that happened during the pandemic. It is located on the first floor with displays from the Adult, YA, and Children’s collections.

Not to be confused with Rochester Public Library in New Hampshire, the Rochester Public Library in Michigan is also working on creating a diverse mural this year, but they are using some very unique artists, the patrons. Though it is not yet complete, the plan is to create a large mural out of small family portraits painted by the families in the community. “2020 was the perfect year to do it as the ideas of equality, diversity, inclusion, inclusion and social justice became bigger,” says Wendy Lehman, Early Childhood specialist and designer of the mural project. She picked a space to hang the family portraits and measured it to discover that 48 families could participate by painting their portraits on a 6in square canvas. Since the library is currently in a drive-up only phase patrons registered to have a kit ready for pick up. Lehman provided instructions and also made a quick video that included instructions, a statement about how lucky it is to have a diverse community, and a reading of “What a Family,” by Rachel Isadora. After patrons registered through an online system they received an email telling them to come pick up their kit and a link to the instruction video. Lehman hopes to receive all portraits back from the families and start assembly in 2021.She also hopes to have an unveiling of the mural once the library opens again and cannot wait to see the finished product.  

The Wallowa Library in Oregon also designed a new mural in 2020. The mural on the outside of the library desperately needed to be restored. This would have been an expensive project and the original artist original was no longer available to work on the restoration. The friends and the the library board decided on having a new mural designed and that book spines would make a great theme. They hired artist Anna Vogel, who did indeed paint book spines,but she also took the mural a step further and added Kaya, from the American Girl Story “Kaya and the River Girl,” paddling down a river in a canoe among the book spines. The character Kaya is part of the Nez Perce Tribe which has a big connection to the library community and the land the library resides on. It is the perfect example of inclusion and social justice melding with tradition. 

Is your library embarking on a mural project? Share photos and information in the comments.

The post Libraries Celebrate Community with New Murals first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

In its original context, Haight Street Rat was presumed to be aimed at the practices of a nearby boutique that allegedly profited from street art without crediting or sharing revenue with the artists. True or not, there’s definitely an oversized, stenciled painting of a beret-wearing rat on exhibit in a public library.

Choosing a foray into street art had inherent risks. The public could perceive it as tacit approval of any and all graffiti. Relationships with business owners or other entities (e.g. police) could suffer if a spate of local spray painting sprang up. It’s a potentially divisive venture for the staff or board. We learned, however, that, just as in finance, greater risk also has the potential for greater reward. In this case, a medium-sized library’s story was picked up by the Associated Press, made news in multiple outlets in the nearest metropolitan area, was promoted state-wide, and continues to travel across the Internet. It is every marketer’s dream.

Photo Courtesy of Kokomo-Howard County Public Library

As is always true, having—and utilizing—a range of staff expertise was absolutely key. Dedicated employees who work with facilities removed and disassembled shelving, patched and painted a wall, and devised a trial run to make sure we could get the shipping crate into the building. Graphic arts literally worked overtime to implement Marketing’s vision. A cataloger, who happens to have great people skills, staffed one of the most vital areas during the event that followed the piece’s unveiling. A processor who is passionate about art arranged an exhibit with a local artist whose surreal style complements Banksy. While media coverage focused on the staffer who thought of bringing the Banksy piece to the library, ideas without implementation have little to no value. It took the whole team, with their varied skills, to bring the idea to life.

KHCPL also benefitted from employees who could think as if they were patrons. They realized visitors would want to do more than look at one piece of art. As a result, there is a display of matted prints of other Banksy work along with specially created handouts including a guide to other art to visit in our community. There is also a “What Would the Rat Say” caption contest for adults and a “Find the Rat” activity for kids. The traffic flow also routes visitors past a station where they are invited to sign a guest book, an act that reinforces the idea that the visit is noteworthy.

Photo Courtesy of Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.

To make a potentially big event feel significant to your patrons, spending a little extra money can help to create a “wow” factor. In the case of the Haight Street Rat, a limited supply of commemorative pins has been a real draw. The Friends of the Library came alongside and took the financial risk on another extra, selling a custom-designed shirt. While there are times when it’s truly not possible to splurge, finding the right combination that creates a memorable experience for patrons can go a long way toward updating the community’s perception of what libraries do.

Your big project will probably won’t involve a rat, but the principles are the same. Consider saying “yes” to an idea that’s a bit risky, give staff the chance to grow the idea and let them shine, and look for ways to add in the extras that make it really pop.

Resources

American Libraries magazine

CNN – New Banksy Brexit Mural Unveiled on Day of French Vote

LA Weekly – Banksy’s “Haight Street Rat”

US News – Kokomo Library to Display Banksy Street Artwork

The post Lessons from Banksy Booked first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Rebuilding the library has been an exercise in listening and patience. The staff, Board of Trustees, and design team has worked tirelessly over the past five years to design and build a library that will be beyond the expectations of every citizen. Much time has been spent on gathering input from various stakeholder groups—everyone from teenagers to early childhood educators to senior citizens. And the end result is going to be magnificent. We open on August 24.

One of the more important elements in the building has been the installation of public art. While it may seem secondary to many people, our Board of Trustees has made a commitment to the inclusion of art. To this end our Foundation secured thousands of dollars in donations from our community in order to finance the commission, installation, and maintenance of public art in the new library.

The discussion of art in public places is an ongoing and sometimes difficult one. Each community must ask itself what it values and whether public art is a part of the plan. For our community, both the City Council and the County have policies in place that requires 1 percent of every building project to be used on public art. Many cities have similar policies in place.

The value of public art can be seen in community tourism attraction, economic development, and even civic engagement.

Jack Becker, founder and artistic director for FORECAST Public Artworks, sums up the value of public art in this way: “Great public art reveals its meaning over time, rewarding repeated visits. Beyond all that, public art has the distinct ability to add beauty to our shared environment; to commemorate, memorialize, and celebrate; and to transport us, if only momentarily, out of our daily routine. Public art is for everyone and it is free. Many people don’t visit museums or attend the theater; anybody can experience public art.” [1]

Over a process of two years the library worked with a volunteer task force on the commission of public art. The architects designed the perfect spot for a large sculptural element on an urban plaza on the north side of our building, facing our downtown. The task force used a system known as Café (www.callforentry.org), a web-based service that allows organizations to easily reach and manage an artist-application and jury process for public art. The search was international and Café made managing the process simple and easy to do from anywhere.

After more than 330 entries, the task force narrowed down to three finalists. Each finalist received $500 to do a proposal for the urban plaza sculpture. After two months, interviews were held over Skype with each artist and the task force had the opportunity to evaluate each proposal. In July of 2012, renowned artist Albert Paley was selected as the artist who was commissioned to create the sculpture.

A full year later, in July of 2013, the sculpture, called “Regeneration”, is being installed at the site of the new Cedar Rapids Public Library. It is 32 feet in length and 18 feet at its tallest point. It is made of stainless steel and painted a dramatic red color.

While the process to identify who would make the art for the public library was cumbersome and lengthy, it also allowed the library an opportunity to focus energy and resources on something that was determined to be a large priority. In the end, not only does the library end up with a wonderful public art piece, but there are also policies in place to deal with the variety of issues that come along with art in public places. These policies offer guidance on the donation of art to the library, the ongoing maintenance of all art, and the deaccession of art from the library collection.

For libraries looking to establish similar policies, great information can be found through the Americans for the Arts: Public Art Network (http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/public_art_network/resources_tools.asp).

The post Public Art As Part Of The Public Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.