Downtown arts projects coming together

YOUNGSTOWN — Public art projects selected for the downtown area are taking shape.

Work started today on one of them – a curved wall made out of 3-D-printed decorative ceramic blocks, each inlaid with a solar-powered light. It’s located in the grassy area in front of The Vindicator building at West Front Street and Vindicator Square.

Another project, located in the grassy hillside at North Hazel Street next to the steel museum, already has been completed. It’s a green-space project titled the Wedge at Hazel Hill, which includes a 15-foot-wide wooden stage that can be used for performances and landscaping, including a rain-collection system.

The five projects are part of the INPLACE (Innovative Plan for Leveraging Arts Through Community Engagement) initiative, which is funded by a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to Youngstown State University.

Each project received $20,000, and each is in some stage of implementation, according to Leslie Brothers, director of the McDonough Museum of Art and one of the INPLACE selection panelists.

Brian Peters of Kent is the designer of the “solar screen” project in front of The Vindicator.

His piece will be between 6 and 7 feet tall. A two-man crew from Youngstown Tile and Terrazzo of Canfield began laying the ceramic tiles today, after a concrete base was poured last week. Work is expected to take several days.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com