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DDD Art Project Designed to Transform Transit Shelters
Everyone knows art can be spiritually and emotionally transformative, but few expect to have such an experience while waiting for a ride. This fall, the 14 transit shelters on Canal Street are being transformed into a virtual outdoor gallery of contemporary art through the Downtown Development District’s “Artification” process. As part of the project, each of the shelters from the river to Claiborne Avenue will be covered in reproductions of original art created by Louisiana artists whose work was selected in a blind-juried process. “The DDD’s goal is to enhance the streetscape as part of our Canal Street Development Strategy,” said DDD President & CEO Kurt Weigle. “We are doing that by providing a unique public art component during the Prospect.1 art biennial, the largest such show ever staged in the United States.” The Prospect.1 exhibition will be in New Orleans November 1, 2008 –January 18, 2009; however, the shelter art will remain for up to three years.
Through a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Regional Transit Authority, the DDD has been sprucing up the shelters to prepare them for the application of artwork. “RTA is delighted to be working closely with the DDD in a project which will truly bring joy to locals and tourists alike. I am very thankful for the assistance of the DDD in recognizing the great talent of our gifted Louisiana artists,” said Cesar Burgos, chairman of the RTA Board of Commissioners. One hundred-twenty-seven artists competed for the opportunity to see their work displayed along Canal Street. Selected artists, whose work includes everything from the spiritual to the whimsical, include the following: Morgana King, overall winner; Amzie Adams, Sandra Bolen, Ann Boudreau, Caitlin Clifford, Alan Garson, Greg Giegucz, Robert Guthrie, Carol Hallock, Olivia Hill, Miranda Lake, Shawne Major, Keith Perelli and Gwendolyn Siniard. The DDD will provide a map and guide to the gallery, which will be available at participating merchant locations and at the DDD’s Prospect.1 Welcome Center at 851 Magazine Street by November 1. Click here to download the Artification map and guide. Selected artists' work:
Look who's talking about ARTIFICATION: Times Picayune "RTA Canal Street Bus Shelters get ART" New Orleans City Business "Artsy Bus Shelters Debut on Canal Street" Gambit Weekly/BestofNewOrleans.com The Independent Weekly (Lafayette, LA) "New Orleans Streetcar Shelters Art"
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