In appreciation of growth in public art in the Valley

A surge in public art in recent years has been painting the Mahoning Valley increasingly vibrant. With broad strokes and great flourish, paintings, murals, statues and other outdoor artworks have been brightening our visual environs.

Take for example, the trio of oversized vinyl murals depicting masterpiece paintings from the Butler Institute of American Art that tower over West Federal Street across from the DeYor Performing Arts Center downtown.

Or marvel at a set of murals painted brightly on once-decaying buildings on Glenwood Avenue that promote theater arts in the Youngstown Playhouse district or that joyously harken to the city’s glory days of Idora Park and Isaly Dairy.

Or travel to downtown Warren to appreciate a group of paintings, murals and other art paying tribute to Warren native Dave Grohl and his internationally famous Foo Fighters. The public art there has revitalized a decrepit, garbage-strewn alley into a center of dynamic, lively and cultural enrichment.

Public art – art in any media that is presented outside or in a public domain – clearly is proliferating in the Valley. Its expansion comes largely thanks to efforts from such groups as the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., the William Swanston Charitable Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council and many other committed groups and individuals.

One of those longtime committed individuals is artist Jack Carlton, who recently completed work on the Valley’s newest addition to its public-art collection. With assistance from his wife, Paula Jasper, and others, three oversized murals have been added to the downtown landscape of Girard. The addition of the visuals that depict the inaugural program for the Warner Theater in Youngstown plus two reproductions of Butler Institute baseball master works, complement ongoing efforts to revive and re-energize that city’s central business district.

$100,000 PUBLIC-ART GRANT

Public-art momentum for our region also emanates from other sources. Youngstown State University, for example, recently was awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts – one of the largest such grants in the United States – to fortify public art in the city.

That project aims to artistically enhance various public domains via wayfinding signage, green spaces, lighting and other motifs. It also illustrates that the value of such projects stretches beyond aesthetic improvements.

“This project is not limited to the creation and distribution of art but will act as an exploratory arm for community, economic and cultural development,” said Mike Crist, interim dean of the YSU College of Creative Arts and Communications and one of the authors of the grant application.

Collectively, the hubbub surrounding public art in Youngstown, the Mahoning Valley and the state should be applauded. Not only does it foster greater appreciation for culture, it also adds zest to broader community-development initiatives.

As such, we wish the slew of ongoing public-art enterprises success and encourage others to dabble in their expansion in other underappreciated nooks and crannies throughout the Valley.