Projects
ART THIS WAY is a public art program and creative place-making initiative which operates under the umbrella of the Fort Wayne Downtown Economic Improvement District, FWDID. The FWDID contracts A H Public Spaces Consulting, LLC to liaison between property owners and artists to bring large scale professional art installations into Fort Wayne, IN. Managing Art This Way includes the commission and development of public realm projects, event planning, and the facilitation and implementation of public art on private property.
[Photo Credit: Brett Frauhiger, Adam Garland, Rachel Von Stroup, & Stephen J Bailey]
PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY TRAINING WORKSHOP for CREATIVES: MAY & JUNE 2024
About The Project: "I" AM ALLEN
The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation in late 1823 designating a 660 square mile area of northeast Indiana to be Indiana's newest county. The legislation would take effect on April 1, 1824 and on that day Allen County was born. In 2024, Allen County will celebrate its bicentennial, marking 200 years
since its official establishment. Through the end of 2024 we will endeavor as a community to... Remember our Past, Celebrate our Present, and Imagine our Future.
The Allen County, Indiana's Bicentennial Executive Board has developed a public art project to symbolize Allen County's 200th anniversary--a standard, cohesive sculpture design that will
be painted by regional artists. Each sculpture will be decorated to highlight the individual community’s points of pride and unique history. These sculptures will be installed outdoors in the fall of 2024. Public artwork is an essential building block in economic
development and quality of place, and this project will bring another unique public art feature to our communities while also promoting awareness of our Bicentennial. These experiential
sculptures will attract visitors, locals, and tourists!
Allen County Bicentennial Sculptures
The 2022 Liv Co Walls mural festival is an innovative project intended to enhance Livingston County’s economic development efforts.
This project brought one large mural to each of the nine downtown districts— providing another asset in their walkable, pedestrian-friendly downtowns. These murals attract visitors, locals, and tourists!
This regional mural festival concept builds on the quality of place efforts accelerated by the Downtown Partnership, a program of Livingston County Economic Development, grows regional pride, and garnered significant attention and exposure nationally.
Photos by Keith Walters | Alex Hall
ELECTRIC WORKS CAMPUS
Hall was hired to help facilitate some of the artwork on the Electric Works campus. Theoplis Smith aka Phresh Laundry installed the Union Street Tunnel. This tunnel mural acts as the gateway piece that invites and welcomes visitors to the newly renovated Electric Works campus. The project, a 700,000 square foot adaptive re-use of the former GE campus, will act as the heart of innovation, collaboration, programming and cultural change for Northeast Indiana. Hall worked with the Ancora team to implement this tunnel mural as well as nine mural panels for the Union Street Market. All the artists hired are local to Fort Wayne, and each project tells a story about GE’s history and celebrates the new makers coming to
the renovated campus. Artists who painted the nine mural panels are: OLIVIA PEREZ & CECILIA DUNIFON, RAUL PEREZ, THEOPLIS SMITH III aka PHRESH LAUNDRY, JULIE WALL, TERRY RATLIFF, JEREMY STROUP, GRACE YENCER, BONNIE "BONJO" ANDREWS, EMILY MERCEDES.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN MURAL FEST is a region-wide public art initiative which encompasses eleven counties in northeast Indiana. A H Public Spaces Consulting, LLC was hired by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership to act as the public art consultant on the project. Alexandra's role included development of property owner contracts and artist agreements, development of artwork content, facilitation of the artist selection processes including open calls, recruiting artists, jury sessions and property owner approval processes.
She also advised wall selection, on-site logistics, paint order delivery, wall preparation, and acted as the artist liaison-working to ensure artist participation, answer their concerns and ensure a completed project.
The overarching goal of this initiative is the leveraging of public art to attract a skilled and talented workforce and to impact regional quality of life.
[Photo Credit: Stephen J Bailey & BFA Studios]
Public Realm Programming
Under the contract with the Fort Wayne Downtown Economic Improvement District, FWDID, A H Public Spaces Consulting, LLC works to further activate spaces with seating, events and greenery. This part of the contract involves collaboration with the city of Fort Wayne and FWDID to activate spaces on public and private property in order to encourage pedestrian use and draw traffic to specific zones. This programming includes partnerships with anchor businesses; The aim is to increase their business and offer them additional seating and event zones near their restaurant, café, or boutique. Murals and public art are often a component of these activation zones, but additional creative placemaking mechanisms include seating, lighting, greenery, trash containers, closure of streets and parking areas, and art installations.
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH IMPROVED QUALITY OF PLACE
In 2021 the NewAllen Alliance brought five large scale art projects to five communities: Leo-Cedarville, Grabill, Woodburn, Monroeville and Hoagland, Indiana. Each community has a unique project in a location that is in the heart of their town or city. The purpose of this artwork implementation is to highlight community assets, educate visitors, encourage economic growth, and improve over-all quality of place.
All five murals are complete.
A huge thank you to the talented artists: Tim Parsley, Julie Wall, Ricco Diamante, Amy Buchs, and John Klein!
NewAllen Alliance Projects
Jefferson Pointe Murals
In the summer of 2021 five unique murals were installed at Jefferson Pointe in Fort Wayne, Indiana. These murals were part of an open-call artist application and a people’s choice contest.
The purpose of this artwork implementation is to drive organic social media content, provide opportunities to emerging talent, enhance the pedestrian experience in these zones, and increase commerce.
MURAL INSTALLATIONS
TAMMY DAVIS | BEAR in VAN
CHRIS CATALOGNA | CANYONS
NICK FERRAN | BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF
JOHN KLEIN | SUMMIT CITY
MATT PLETT | YOU GOT THIS!
CITY UTILITIES
CLEAN DRAINS FORT WAYNE
In 2021, under the direction of Friends of the Rivers and City Utilities, the program installed 33 drain murals. In 2022, the program installed 37 murals. In 2023, the program installed 25 more drain murals and a legacy mural. These projects appeared in neighborhoods, along trail systems, and throughout downtown Fort Wayne. The drain murals are expected to last between 1-4 years. The temporary murals will serve as a visual reminder that the storm drains in the city go directly to the waterways and rivers. The legacy mural will remain along Fort Wayne's Saint Mary’s River as a reminder, 'Only Rain in the Drain.' The mural was christened on World River Day, September 23, 2023.
The Clean Drains Fort Wayne mural program will continue under Art This Way and City Utilities! https://form.jotform.com/240504707059151
FORT WAYNE PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
Nebraska Neighborhood Mural
Public Art Commission funded this project. It was painted by Jeff Pilkinton in the Nebraska Neighborhood. There was an open call for artists to submit qualifications. The top three chosen by the jury were paid to create concepts for review. This design by Pilkinton celebrates the Kekionga Baseball history, the local gardens, and the women of Wayne Knitting Mills.
DOWNTOWN BELLEFONTE INC
BELLEFONE MURAL PROJECT
Downtown Bellefonte, Inc., DBI, is dedicated to helping business arrive and thrive in 21st Century Bellefonte while preserving, protecting, and utilizing Bellefonte’s historic architecture and heritage, and organizing town-wide initiatives that invite residents and visitors alike to discover all that Bellefonte has to offer.
The artist selection process has ended for this project.
The artwork will be installed by KEY DETAIL in the spring of 2024!
Make Music, Fort Wayne
MAKE MUSIC, FORT WAYNE is a project run in partnership with Lutheran Life Villages. Upright pianos are painted by local artists and then they are placed in strategic public areas. The community is invited to bring music to the alleyways of Fort Wayne, IN.
Each year a new piano is released into the wild!
Kevin Naber created this video and is responsible for the entire Make Music FW program.