Trumbull Art Gallery teams with artists to promote brownfields

Staff report

WARREN

On Saturday, the Trumbull Art Gallery, 158 North Park Ave., will have a gallery opening titled “Urban Opportunity,” an art exhibit in collaboration with the Trumbull County Brownfield Coalition and six local artists.

The gallery is open noon to 4 p.m.

The exhibit shows Trumbull County brownfields, which are former industrial sites needing cleanup. The project’s goal is to educate the public on the need to renew the sites for future use.

The Trumbull County Brownfield Coalition is a partnership between the Western Reserve Port Authority, Trumbull County Planning Commission, city of Warren and Howland Township.

A brownfield is any former commercial or industrial site whose reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant, said Julie Edwards of the planning commission.

The coalition received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it used to create a countywide inventory of more than 70 brownfield sites, pursue an urban-setting designation within the city of Warren and conduct environmental assessments at nine sites.

Assessments are the first step in redeveloping a contaminated property, Edwards said. The coalition also developed an education and outreach strategy to educate business owners, real-estate professionals, elected officials and residents about them.

“With this art show, we wanted to combine unexpected partnerships with an innovative educational approach in order to leverage new advocates for brownfield redevelopment,” Edwards said. “Brownfields are not glamorous. Cleaning them up is a long and tedious process. We needed to find a way to make this interesting to the public,” she said.

“By partnering with local artists and focusing on visual imagery as an educational tool, we are able to create a successful event,” said John Moliterno, port authority executive director.

The Trumbull Art Gallery will host a second reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday that will feature the Rust Belt Poets and Writers, who will read poems inspired by local brownfields.

The exhibit will remain open until Nov. 6. TAG is open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.