Arlington Public Art
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Bikeway Haiku
This September, Arlington Public Art will stenciled haiku poetry written by community members of all ages and walks of life onto the pavement of the Minuteman Bikeway to celebrate the Bikeway’s 25th Anniversary. We received more than 460 poems in response to our Call for Haiku; the poems captured moments observed while biking and walking this Arlington treasure. A panel of 3 poets selected 75 to install on the Bikeway and other public places in Arlington; other poems were stenciled on the Minuteman in Lexington and Bedford for a total of 10 miles of poetry! Stencils were designed and cut by artist Liz LaManche. Special thanks to poets Jessie Brown and Cathie Desjardins for their support and to our selection committee poets Charles Coe, Grey Held and Gloria Mindock.
Bikeway Haiku was organized in partnership with the Bicycle Advisory Committees of Arlington, Lexington and Bedford with support from the public libraries of the three towns. Paint generously donated by Artist and Craftsman in Central Square, Cambridge. This program is supported in part by a grant from by the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional funds provided by the National Park Service and individual donors.
Pathways
Two new works were installed in September on the stretch of the Minuteman Bikeway in the Arlington Cultural District near Spy Pond. Both celebrate the abundant bird life in that area and are inspired by the critical food and habitat the green spaces along the Bikeway provide for neighbourhood wildlife.
Colony by Christopher Frost is a playful sculpture composed of miniature architectural structures wrapping around and climbing up the trunk of a mature maple tree near Spy Pond Park. From a perch overlooking the pond, the playing fields and the Bikeway, invisible inhabitants watch the world go by.
Extraordinary Ordinary Birds is a set of art cards which pay tribute to neighbourhood birds with painted portraits by Resa Blatman and text compiled by Ellen Reed. Gorgeous images and pithy facts will get you started with birdwatching along the Bikeway and stewardship activities in your own back yard. The project launches with 4 cards: Northern Cardinal, Black-Capped Chickadee, and Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Four more will be printed in the spring. Collect them all! #birdnerds
Generously funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency, and donations from individual supporters.
James Weinberg, installation
BRT Pilot Public Art
Site specific art has transformed five bus shelters on Mass. Avenue. Some designs “spill” out of the shelters and continue on walls and pavements to activate the corridor, including murals on Za Restaurant and the Fox Library. It’s all part of the Bus Rapid Transit Pilot in Arlington! Organized in partnership with Planning. & Community Development, Selected artists: Eileen de Rosas, Imagine, Johnny Lapham, Claudia Ravaschiere & Mike Moss, Jemes Weinberg. Funded by the Barr Foundation.
