Artist Team Selected for Liberty Warehouse Wall at Durham Central Park
“Meet the Artists Open House and Discussion”
6:30pm on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at Kompleks Creative
The Liberty Warehouse Wall at Durham Central Park will soon have new public art on display now that the artist team has been chosen.
Durham Central Park, Inc., Liberty Warehouse Apartments, and the City of Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development, General Services Department, Durham Parks and Recreation, Public Art Committee, and Artist Selection Committee have chosen Noa Younse and Jennifer Hiser as the artist team to design and install public art for the Liberty Warehouse Wall.
Their selection follows a participatory review process of 104 artist applications from across the United States responding to a national call for qualifications released in September 2017, and will mark the second major public art installation along the Durham SmART Vision Plan corridor.
Younse and Hiser are a Brooklyn-based pair specializing in community-focused interactive public art. Using themes derived from each unique context, they strive to use art as a vehicle to generate local engagement, encourage individual and group expression, and add to the overall sense of place. The pair has been commissioned for projects across the country, from light-based visual installations to large, physical interactive experiences.
The new public art installation at Durham Central Park will facilitate an interactive, engaging artistic experience in the heart of downtown Durham. Durham community members are invited to attend the “Meet the Artists Open House and Discussion” hosted by the City and Durham Central Park at Kompleks Creative, located at 106 West Parrish St., Suite 2, Durham. During this open house, the community will have the opportunity to meet Younse and Hiser, learn about the team’s artistic vision for this project, and provide comments to actively inform their design process.
To further help artists connect with opportunities, the City has a Durham Calls for Artists page on its website, which lists a number of upcoming opportunities for artists in and around Durham. Artists and other stakeholders who would like to be notified of current and future art-related opportunities and news can now sign up for alerts through the Cultural and Public Art mailing list.
For more information about the City’s Public Art Program, visit the City’s public art webpage. Artists interested in more information about the Public Art program may also contact Senior Economic Development Coordinator Brian Smith with the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development at (919) 560-4965, ext. 15205 or by email.
About SmART Vision Plan
In 2012, the City of Durham was selected as one of five cities in North Carolina to participate in the 2012 North Carolina Arts Council’s SmART Initiative to demonstrate how creative placemaking revitalizes downtowns and fuels sustainable economic development. The Durham Arts Council, in partnership with the City of Durham, Durham County, and multiple private partners and community stakeholders, worked with award winning landscape architect and urban designer Mikyoung Kim, creating a SmART Vision Plan which reimagines the rapidly transforming north-south corridor straight through downtown. For more information visit: https://www.smartdurham.org/
About Durham Central Park, Inc.
Durham Central Park, Inc., is a 501(c)3 organization that holds a management agreement to operate, develop, and program Durham Central Park ,a five-acre, city-owned park downtown. Durham Central Park features numerous gardens, paths and benches, open fields, kids play area, climbable sculptures, a skate park, and a large pavilion that is home to the farmers’ market and other community events.
About the City of Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development
Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development helps ensure that Durham has a strong and diverse economy by increasing the city’s tax base through several revitalization initiatives, including new development efforts in the central city area. The department also plans and promotes cultural awareness and events, identifies and recruits target industries as well as assesses and trains Durham residents to fill new jobs.
About the General Services Department
The General Services Department builds and maintains city properties to make Durham a great place for people to live, work and play. The department’s core functions include the acquisition and sale of properties, design and management of new construction and renovation projects, building maintenance, landscaping and urban forestry services, cemeteries management, sustainability and energy management, and supporting the nonprofit, Keep Durham Beautiful. For more information, visit: http://durhamnc.gov/733/.
About the City of Durham Public Art Committee
The Public Art Committee serves as an advisory body to the Durham City Council and the City Manager, and its functions include assisting the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development on matters relating to public art; implementation of the Public Art Policy; and reviewing proposals for public art projects brought to it by the City administration; and making recommendations to the Cultural Advisory Board regarding project approvals.