SEEING DOWNTOWN DIFFERENTLY
UNVEILING THE PUBLIC ART PLAN FOR SHERMAN
In July 2020, artists gathered for a day-long Public Art planning workshop to create concepts for future public art in the Sherman Cultural District and around the city.
The workshop, supported by the City of Sherman and a National Endowment for the Arts "Our Town" grant, has yielded an inspiring report that provides a blueprint for developing a robust and inclusive public art strategy in Sherman.
The workshop was facilitated by two outstanding professionals from the Arts Council of Fort Worth: Martha Peters, Director of Public Art, and Karen Wiley, President/CEO. Many thank to our panelists for the workshop: Daron Holland, Holland Logos and Sherman City Council, District 4; Ilknur Ozgur, Artistic Director and Founder, Artstillery, West Dallas; Heidi Rushing, Associate Director of Marketing, Austin College; Mark Monroe, Associate Professor of Art, Austin College; Jared Tredway, Tredway Workshop and Co-Director, Ghost Town Arts Collective; and Giovanni Valderas, Exhibition Manager at the Fort Worth Community Art Center.
The ideas in the plan represent a community-based and authentic vision that reflects Sherman’s creative heritage as well as its growing diversity.
Completing this activity was an important step to conclude our Focalpoint(!) Project grant. We gratefully acknowledge that this project was funded in part by an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and with the support of Austin College.
The full plan is now available for download in PDF format. Watch for news on implementation during the February 2021 Mardi Gras activities and beyond!
CommUnity Vision Day on July 24, 2020, brought together Sherman leaders and artists to imagine the Cultural District's public art potential.
Posters by Chloe Bachofen, Austin College intern
Translation by Hector Diaz, Austin College intern