BERLIN – Public art will soon be on display during the town’s Third Thursday Lunchtime Concerts.
Students from Stephen Decatur High School are currently turning the town’s wooden picnic tables, used during the lunchtime concerts, into works of art.
“We’re always trying to encourage students to get more involved with the town and the addition of public art is always welcome,” said Ivy Wells, the town’s economic development director.
Earlier this year, Wells spoke to staff at Stephen Decatur High School about the possibility of students painting utility boxes in Berlin. While school officials expressed interest in partnering with the town on a project, members of the Berlin Historic District Commission expressed concern regarding the concept of painting downtown utility boxes.
“It wouldn’t have looked right downtown,” said Carol Rose, chair of the commission.
Aware of the commission’s qualms, Wells worked with Town Administrator Laura Allen to identify another project. They decided the handful of picnic tables purchased for the town’s new lunchtime concert series could use some adornment.
“We decided the picnic tables make perfect sense because they’re temporary,” Wells said. “It also makes sense because the concerts are located on Artisans Green.”
Mary Berquist, special programs coordinator at Stephen Decatur, said educators were happy to give students participating in the school’s Summer Academy the opportunity to work on art that would benefit the community.
“We’ve embraced that idea,” she said.
Roughly 20 students, a mix of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, are now spending a portion of each day painting picnic tables. They completed the first one, painted to resemble an American flag, last week. Berquist said another would depict the Maryland flag while others would bring attention to the town’s 2014 honor as “America’s Coolest Small Town.”
Berquist says students are pleased to be working on a project that will go beyond the walls of Decatur.
“They came into it knowing they were partnering with the community,” she said. “It gives them the sense of contribution.”
Rose says she’s thrilled about the new project. While the historic commission did not support the concept of Berlin utility boxes painted in “psychedelic” themes, its members were not opposed to public art or student artwork in general, she explained.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said.
Rose is thrilled to see local students involved in an art project that will benefit downtown Berlin.
“I think it’s terrific,” she said, adding that she hoped there was a way to display information regarding the tables’ décor for the public. “If there was a way people could know they’d been done by students that’d be wonderful.”
Wells, pointing out that the town includes the Berlin Arts and Entertainment District, said public art was something she hoped to see more of in Berlin in the future. She said anyone with interest in similar projects should contact her.
“We’re all really excited about how this worked out,” she said. “We encourage students to get involved.”
