Greensboro is pleased to welcome Jack Becker, Director of Forecast Public Art (Minneapolis, MN), for two speaking engagements on Public Art as Civic Catalyst. The project represents a partnership between The Public Art Endowment, The Downtown Greenway, Elsewhere, and the Weatherspoon Art Museum—an exciting collaboration of organizations working together to build public art and creative community in Greensboro.
Jack Becker will discuss the complex, beneficial, and sometimes contentious role that art plays in the public realm. Becker will also discuss the ways public art and community participation contribute significantly to the identity of a city. He will broadly address the role of the more than 350 public art programs in the United States working at the federal, state, city, and county levels, as well as transit and aviation programs nationally. He will also offer reflections on the scale of budget allocations that make public art possible and beneficial.
Becker is the founder and Director of Forecast Public Art, a public art generator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Forecast is the publisher of Public Art Review (a public art magazine), the distributor of grants and commissions to the local Minneapolis/ St. Paul artist community, and a leading consultancy for building community interest and investment through a public process for public art.
He will be at the Weatherspoon Art Museum Auditorium on Saturday, November 12 from 2:00–4:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.
Susan Schwartz, Chuck Cornelio, and Trip Brown submitted a Counterpoint to the Greensboro News & Record Short Stack on October 24, 2011. Their rebuttal and reaction was printed in the November 5, 2011 News & Record. Click here to read the full piece.
NEIGHBORHOOD BENCH PROJECT
The Budget: The budget for the design, fabrication, and installation of this project is $5,000.
A Public Art initiative has been established to integrate art into the design and construction process of the Downtown Greenway. An artist-designed and/or fabricated bench will represent each of the 12 different neighborhoods or areas that the Greenway route travels through. The artist will be asked to work with the community and its members to capture the essence of the neighborhood’s past, present, and/or future.
This will be the third neighborhood bench to be commissioned for the Greenway. It will be located on a section of the Greenway known as Phase 3A, and will sit on a triangular park at the intersection of Eugene and Smith Street and Battleground Avenue (area outlined in red below). The design and fabrication of the bench will require that the artist work with representatives from Withers and Ravenel, the civil and environmental engineering firm that has been hired as a consultant for the Greenway. The artist will also be asked to collaborate with residents from Greensboro’s Fisher Park neighborhood through a Community Meeting to incorporate concepts generated by that collaboration into the design of the bench.
For more information, click here to see the full RFP.
Last week at the annual meeting of Downtown Greensboro, Inc., Trip Brown received the 2011 Ed Kitchen Downtown Leadership Award for his years of outstanding volunteer efforts to make the Downtown Greenway a reality!
Trip serves not only as the Co-chair of the Downtown Greenway Oversight Committee but also the Co-chair of the Greenway Major Gifts Campaign Committee. His expertise, vision, and guidance have been completely invaluable in this complex public works undertaking, and Greensboro residents and visitors will reap the benefits of his energy and commitment for many years to come.
Previous winners include former City Manager and current Vice President of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, Ed Kitchen; Guilford Merchants Association President & CEO Mike Bumpass; past DGI Board Chairman Jimmy Black; past DGI President Ray Gibbs; and Susan Schwartz, executive director of Cemala Foundation—all of whom display effective and persistent leadership, resulting in significant improvements within our center city.
Please join us in applauding Trip Brown!
Run 4 the Greenway Successes!
THANKS TO:
(approximately)
800 partiers
400 runners
140 volunteers
1 title sponsor
and countless community partners and supporters
The 2nd Annual Run 4 the Greenway made:
(approximately)
$9,000
for the Downtown Greenway Endowment Fund!
Save the Date for next year: Saturday, September 8, 2012!
Start training now!
Thanks to all who came out to support the Downtown Greenway this weekend! It was a beautiful evening and a great event!
The results are in and the photos are up!
Click here to see the official times.
Click here to see race day photos!
We look forward to reporting our fundraising contributions soon!
Online registration is closed, but you can still sign up at Center City Park tomorrow starting at 3:30 pm! See you there!
Run 4 the Downtown Greenway!
sponsored by
RUN 4 the DOWNTOWN GREENWAY! Saturday, September 10, 2011
Center City Park (corner of North Elm & Friendly)
The 1 Mile Walk/Run will begin at 5:15 pm, and the 8K at 5:45 pm. The 8K will feature an urban loop following the Downtown Greenway detour route through the first constructed phase of the Greenway.
Run 4 the Greenway T-Shirts are generously donated by Vf Corporation.
RACE Schedule:
3:30–5:00 pm: On-site Registration & Runner Check-in
4:30 pm: Runner Warm-up
5:15 pm: 1 Mile Run/Walk Begins
5:45 pm: 8K Run Begins
6:45 pm: Awards for Race Winners
BUILD A RACE TEAM! Do you have several friends who would like to form a team? A discount will be offered for each team of 4 runners. Don't wait. Call your friends now!
Awards include donations from: Off N' Running, REI, Triad Stage, Precision Timing Systems, Deep Roots Market, and Free Spirits Yoga!
Special Thanks to Shell Bray for their sponsorship of the Runner Hospitality Tent!
Click here to register!
GET FIT 4 THE GREENWAY!
Not a runner and still looking to burn a few calories? Join the FREE group fitness classes in Center City Park during the race!
Fitness Classes:
4:45–5:15 pm: Yoga Stretch with Free Spirits Yoga
5:30–6:15 pm: Zumba with Zumba Triad
PARTY 4 THE GREENWAY!
The celebration in Center City Park will be a great time for all! Evan & Dana will be back this year to entertain us in the park. There will be great food, beer, and wine, and lots of activities for children and adults.
Activities:
4:30–6:30 pm: ArtQuest / Green Hill Center for NC Art
5:30–8:00 pm: elsewhere collaborative
6:30–8:00 pm: Looney Lanny the Balloon Guy
7:00–8:30 pm: Live Music by Evan & Dana, sponsored by Downtown Greensboro, Inc.
Stop by the Premier Commercial Bank tent for a free Hand & Stone massage!
Beer Garden Sponsored by Natty Greene's Brewery
Food will include: Spring Garden Bakery Truck, Tea Hugger Iced Tea, Ice Cream, and more!
Special Thanks to our Media Sponsors:
Plans are underway for the 2nd annual Run 4 the Downtown Greenway. We need volunteers to cheer runners, monitor the course, help at the water stations, and assist in other ways. If you are willing to volunteer on Saturday, September 10 between 2:30–8:00 pm, please email Laura Lorenz at llorenz@actiongreensboro.org.
Volunteer duties include check-in, entertainment logistics, kids' activities, sales, water stations, and much more!
Special thanks to Project Greenway Leaders for a passionate and compelling
editorial, Project Greenway Investment Worth Every Dollar Spent, in this
Sunday's Greensboro News & Record.
To read the full article, click here.
Project Greenway is a recently formed citizen advocacy group supporting economic
development in Greensboro through the creation of the Downtown Greenway.
Construction on phase 1A running from West Lee Street to Spring Garden street along the east side of Freeman Mill Road began last month. Clearing and grading to make way for the stormwater/sewer and the Greenway is well underway as you can see. Completion of this section is expected this fall (2012). Stay tuned for more details!
