[Durham INC] Durham Seeks Community Vote to Select Artist for New West Club Boulevard Crosswalk Art Design

[PublicAffairs]

[Title: City of Durham Office of Public Affairs logo]
News Media Contact
Amy Blalock, Public Affairs Manager
919.560.4123 x11253 | 919.475.7735 (mobile)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov
News Release
For Immediate Release: January 21, 2021


Durham Seeks Community Vote to Select Artist for New Crosswalk Art Design to Transform West Club Boulevard Pedestrian Safety

Online Voting Open Until February 1



DURHAM, N.C. - Five local and regional artists have prepared designs for new crosswalk art that will make West Club Boulevard safer, and the community is now invited to vote for their top choice for the artist finalist.



>From now until February 1, 2021, community members and stakeholders can choose the artist finalist based on their presented designs through an online survey, available in English<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/clubcrossingcommunityvote> and Spanish<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ClubCrossingVotodelaComunidad>.


The new Club Crossing Project<https://durhamnc.gov/4280/Club-Crossing> will soon transform the intersection of West Club Boulevard and Glendale Avenue with new crosswalk art. This location was selected because the site has a well-documented vehicle speeding problem, and it attracts many pedestrians and cyclists including students at Club Boulevard Elementary, visitors to Northgate Park, and users of the Ellerbe Creek Trail.



In November 2020<https://durhamnc.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5023>, the City's Transportation Department, Cultural and Public Art Program in collaboration with an Artist Selection Panel of community members, and the Durham Parks Foundation selected Claire Alexandre, Candy Carver, Jai Martin, Renzo Ortega, and Cassandra Rowe to develop initial designs individually for this project. Each artist was compensated $750 to develop their initial designs, which were informed by community members and stakeholders through a community survey.


Once the community selects the winning artist through the online survey, this artist will then be compensated an additional $5,000 to continue to host, facilitate, and participate in community engagement activities to refine their design before finalizing and installing the crosswalk art with a budget of $10,500 for the installation process and materials in late spring 2021.


Once the project is finished later this spring, the new crosswalk should improve street and pedestrian safety by activating the intersection and travel lanes through artwork in the crosswalk in front of Club Boulevard Elementary, reducing speeding on West Club Boulevard, and increasing yielding to pedestrians crossing West Club Boulevard and Glendale Avenue near the school. It will also help to tie distinct elements of this corridor together: Club Boulevard Elementary, Northgate Park, Ellerbe Creek Trail, and the East Coast Greenway.

The project is funded in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative grant program, which assists small and medium-sized cities looking to use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage their communities. In July 2020, the City of Durham was one of 16 U.S. cities selected<https://durhamnc.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4899> to receive $25,000 from the program to help fund this crosswalk public art project. Additional City funds contributing to this project are from the Cultural and Public Art Program as well as matching in-kind costs for staff time and physical resources.



For more information about this project, visit the Club Crossing Project webpage<https://durhamnc.gov/4280/Club-Crossing> or contact Cultural and Public Art Program Manager Rebecca Brown with the City's General Services Department at (912) 398-8075 or by email<mailto:%20rebecca.brown at durhamnc.gov>.

About the City of Durham Public Art Committee
The Public Art Committee<http://durhamnc.gov/453/Public-Art-Committee> serves as an advisory body to the Durham City Council and the City Manager, and its functions include assisting the City's General Services Department on matters relating to public art; implementation of the Public Art Policy; and reviewing proposals for public art projects brought to it by the City administration; and making recommendations to the Durham Cultural Advisory Board<http://durhamnc.gov/452/Cultural-Advisory-Board> regarding project approvals. To further help artists connect with opportunities, the City has also launched a Durham Calls for Artists<http://durhamnc.gov/2984/Durham-Calls-for-Artists> page on its website, which lists a number of upcoming opportunities for artists in and around Durham. Artists and other stakeholders who would like to be notified of current and future art-related opportunities and news can now sign up for alerts through the Cultural and Public Arts Calls for Art mailing list<https://durhampublicartprogram.simplelists.com/>. For more information about the City's Cultural and Public Arts Program, visit the City's cultural and public arts page<https://durhamnc.gov/453/Public-Art-Committee>.

About the City of Durham General Services Department
The General Services Department<http://durhamnc.gov/733/> builds and maintains City properties to make Durham a great place for people to live, work, and play. Guided by the City's Strategic Plan<http://durhamnc.gov/183/Strategic-Plan>, the department's core functions include the acquisition and sale of properties, design and management of new construction and renovation projects, building maintenance, landscaping and urban forestry services, cemeteries management, sustainability and energy management, and supporting the nonprofit Keep Durham Beautiful<https://keepdurhambeautiful.org/>.

About the City of Durham Transportation Department
The Transportation Department<https://durhamnc.gov/1002/Transportation> remains steadfast in its commitment to providing and maintaining quality, multimodal infrastructure to improve mobility, promote environmental sustainability, and enhance the quality of life for current and future Durham residents, businesses, and visitors. To learn more, follow the department on Twitter<https://twitter.com/movesafedurham>.

About the Durham Parks Foundation
The Durham Parks Foundation<https://durhamparksfoundation.org/> exists to preserve, strengthen and expand parks, trails, open space and recreational opportunities in Durham through diverse community involvement, fundraising, partnerships and education. Founded in 2015 to facilitate public/private partnerships for the benefit of all in Durham, the foundation assists groups with fundraising, providing information about future projects in parks, and advocating for the expansion and improvement of parks, trails, and open space in Durham. For more information, follow on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/DurhamParksFoundation/> and Twitter<https://twitter.com/durhamparksfoun>.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 810 cities and 170 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: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.6 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/bloombergdotorg>, Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/bloombergdotorg/>, YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/bloombergdotorg>, Twitter<https://twitter.com/bloombergdotorg>, Snapchat<https://www.snapchat.com/add/bloombergdotorg>, and Flickr<https://www.flickr.com/photos/bloombergphilanthropies>.

###

[Title: City of Durham Office of Public Affairs contact information]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20210121/90d1ce63/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 11699 bytes
Desc: image005.jpg
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20210121/90d1ce63/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6357 bytes
Desc: image006.jpg
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20210121/90d1ce63/attachment-0003.jpg>