Seeing Spartanburg in a New light will hold a closing celebration on Tuesday April 25th, 2017 from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Ceremonies will take place at several of the public art site locations across the city simultaneously.
In 2015, the City of Spartanburg was selected as one of four temporary public art projects from across the United States to receive a grant award from the first-ever Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. Seeing Spartanburg opened on October 4, 2016 and included nine temporary art installations in public spaces within ten neighborhoods throughout the city. The project is a partnership among the City of Spartanburg Police and Community Relations Departments, internationally renowned light and digital media artist Erwin Redl, the Chapman Cultural Center, and neighborhood associations. Seeing Spartanburg built on National Night Out, an annual event that promotes crime prevention efforts, police-community partnership, and neighborhood camaraderie. Planning and Design expanded sisteen months and culminating with opening on National Night Out October 4, 2016. Over the past seven months, the LED light and video installations transformed open spaces lending to more vibrant communities, inspiring local residents’ creativity, and lighting up Spartanburg on a national level. The closing celebration will feature live music across all nine sites, as well as comments from local residents, Mayor Junie White, Police Chief Alonzo Thompson and community leaders on the impact this project has had within their neighbourhoods and the City. Site Locations:
- “Video Village” Bethlehem Center | 397 Highland Avenue 29306
-
“Under One Roof’ South Converse | 440 S. Converse St. 29306
-
“Mobile Suspension” Downtown Denny’s Plaza | 203 E. Main St. 29306
-
“Spartanburg Swing” Hampton Heights National Beta Headquarters | 267 S. Spring Street 29306
-
“River Poetry” Cottonwood Trail | 1038 Woodburn Rd. 29302
-
“Glow ” VCOM | 350 Howard St. 29303
-
“Glow” Beaumont Village Smoke Stack | 401 Beaumonth Ave. 29303
-
“Benchmark Spartanburg” Forest Park CC Woodson Center | 210 Bomar Ave 29306
Jennifer Evins, President and CEO of Chapman Cultural Center says: “This has been a true public art process that has resulted in a transformational experience for our entire city including visitors to Spartanburg. The unique planning and design process with Artist Erwin Redl gave our residents and Spartanburg police officers the opportunity to be creative and explore the process of learning to trust one another and share positive experiences. Throughout the last eighteen months, Seeing Spartanburg truly shined a light of hope and community collaboration that all communities strive to achieve. I am extremely grateful to the hundreds of neighborhood residents, City Police and staff, and over sixty-five collaborative community partners that made the project a brilliant success.”
About Chapman Cultural Center
Chapman Cultural Center provides cultural leadership for Greater Spartanburg by developing, strengthening, and promoting the scope, excellence and educational role of the arts, humanities and sciences, and to further their significance in the life of our community and all of its citizens.
The Chapman Cultural Center is located on East Saint John St in downtown Spartanburg, SC. Please visit www.ChapmanCulturalCenter.org for more information.