From the “Grand Entry-Book Columns” on The Green to the mirrored “Firebird” outside of the Bechtler Museum, the “Flying Shuttles” at the Trade Street Plaza to “Zygos” at the Trademark Building, Charlotte is a city full of public art. Since 2003, the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners and the Charlotte City Council have made it a priority to develop and expand the Queen City’s public art with the adoption of ordinances appropriating 1 percent of eligible capital improvement project funds for public art. The Arts & Science Council (ASC), manager of the public art programs for the city and county, recently announced plans to add five more public artworks.

“Grand Entry Book Columns” by Jim Gallucci.

Five Charlotte neighborhoods have been selected to receive these new works as part of the Neighborhoods in Creative pARTnership initiative launched in October 2013 by the City of Charlotte, the Public Art Commission and the ASC. More than 20 neighborhoods applied for these projects, and a neighborhood selection panel narrowed it down to five communities based on neighborhood participation, the strength of the project idea, the potential impact on community growth and the lack of city-funded public art. The selected neighborhoods and the local artist with whom they are paired:

Elizabeth – Amy Bagwell and Sharon Dowell

Grove Park – Dana Gingras

Reid Park – Laurel Holtzapple, Shaun Cassidy and Lauren Doran

Sedgefield – Paula Smith

Shamrock Drive Corridor – Carrie Gault, Rosalia Torres-Weiner and Tina Alberni

“Flying Shuttles” by Andrew Leicester. Photograph by Mitchell Kearney

A separate artist panel selected and paired local artists who had applied for the initiative with each neighborhood. The artists and neighborhoods are now beginning to work together on developing design ideas and determining locations within the community. Betty Chafin Rash, Public Art Commission member said, “The program will expand public art throughout the city as well as showcase the amazing talents of our local artists. I was thrilled with the creativity of the proposals from the neighborhoods selected. And the artists are delighted to be a part of a collaboration that will build their capacity for producing public art.”

The Elizabeth community and paired artists Amy Bagwell and Sharon Dowell have begun their meeting and creative process to develop a public art concept representative of the neighborhood’s identity. Bagwell and Dowell have extensive experience creating this type of community art. Dowell has created or worked on several public artworks, including the Buddy Bear sculpture about to be placed in front of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Main branch and a mural in Concord. Bagwell is the co-founder of Wall Poems of Charlotte, the Uptown poetry murals.

“I think that in our society especially, we don’t have everyday art incorporated into our lives,” said Dowell. “One of my goals is to improve that, whether it’s walking day to day on your way to work or to the football game or whatever.”