Community Building Tip: Public Treasures

[ysabetwordsmith]

For my current set of tips, I'm using the list "101 Small Ways You Can Improve Your City.

81. Put your treasures where the public can see them. The need for sculptures and installations extends far beyond major parks, central squares, and high-trafficked tourist areas. Illuminating the off-the-beaten-path places with high-profile public art, such as the Picasso statue found amid New York University student housing, or Marc Chagall’s Four Seasons mural, set amid the Exelon plaza in Chicago’s Loop, gives the impression that wonders may hide around any city corner.

I find myself most enamored of treasure hunt projects, like Chicago's Cows on Parade.  These entice people to explore a town.  They are also cheaper to do than most big projects, because the cost gets spread out over many participants.  An artist can use it to advertise their work; a business can use it to attract attention; everyone wins.  \o/

Comments

[pronker]

There's an exceptional encouragement to meander Downtown in the brass designs embedded into sidewalk cement squares - the decades-old bars, etc. really stand out with brass mugs of beer, for instance, before their doors. Other places have generic moon and stars designs along with others.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That is so awesome.

Some towns have thematic or customized bike racks, so for instance, a music store could have one shaped like a note and a library could have one shaped like a book.