Artists sought for projects at Centennial Plaza and Visit Canton at Hall of Fame Village

CANTON − Concepts and plans are being accepted for separate art projects at Centennial Plaza and the Hall of Fame Village.

Centennial Plaza's artwork will be football-themed on the exterior of a cooler at Jerzee's Café. Meanwhile, Visit Canton is seeking proposals for mural wall art that will be broader in content and representative of Stark County at its new welcome center opening at the Village's Fan Engagement Zone.

At the plaza in downtown Canton, the city is commissioning a professional artist or design team for the project, which is being done in collaboration with ArtsinStark and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The application deadline is 4 p.m. Sept. 12.

Up to $20,000 is being budgeted for the art wrap at Jerzee's, according to the city of Canton. The project is open to artists who live in Ohio.

Meanwhile, Visit Canton is taking submissions for the mural project at the Hall of Fame Village with a budget of up to $10,000. Expected to open next year, the visitor information center will not replace Visit Canton's downtown Canton location.

Sept. 23 is the deadline for artist submissions to Visit Canton.

'The perfect canvas for a piece of public art.'

After applications are submitted for the Centennial Plaza art project, the Planning Department will select finalists to be interviewed by a panel.

The panel will include the city's planning director, neighborhood planner, the president and CEO of ArtsinStark, the operator of Jerzee’s Café and the executive director of the Downtown Canton Special Improvement District.

One artist or artist and design team will be chosen.

For more information or to apply, go to: https://tinyurl.com/4vycwwap.

"The development of Centennial Plaza has provided an active public space that has strengthened the downtown core and enhanced the surrounding neighborhoods," the city's Department of Planning and Zoning posted on Facebook.

The cooler is attached to the rear of Jerzee's Café at 330 Court Ave. NW.

The addition of a large cooler has "resulted in the perfect canvas for a piece of public art that reflects the city of Canton's historic relationship to professional football and the formation of the National Football League," the art solicit says.

The selected applicant for the art wrap will be commissioned under a separate agreement for an additional art wrap of the public restroom and Centennial Plaza operations support facility to be constructed at Fourth Street and Court. That artwork should complement the public art at Jerzee's Café, according to the city.

More:Public restrooms coming to Canton's Centennial Plaza after council approval

'We'd love to see some really creative art there.'

Chris Maggiore, owner of Jerzee's Café, said he's excited about the football-themed artwork.

"There's a big canvas there," he said of the cooler, which was installed earlier this summer and will allow the restaurant to expand its menu. "It faces Fourth Street ― it's pretty good size."

"We'd love to see some really creative art there," Maggiore added, noting the football focus will match Centennial Plaza. "We can't wait to see what they're going to come up with, and it's going to be great."

Artwork, entertainment and restaurants and businesses work together to make downtown Canton a destination, he said.

"The reason we added the cooler is we wanted to be able to service our customers with the level of product they expect," Maggiore said. "We just didn't have the freezer capacity to do that; it was important for us to do that."

"It's really important that everybody in my opinion is in this together," he said of the downtown community. "And we're trying to create an atmosphere ... in downtown Canton, not just to go to one event (or business or restaurant) but to experience them all."

More:Visit Canton opening visitor center at Hall of Fame Village

Mural project at welcome center at Hall of Fame Village

Visit Canton is seeking proposals to create a mural wall inside the new visitor information center opening at Hall of Fame Village's Fan Engagement Zone, a fully enclosed, indoor retail space, which is under construction.

Details for artist submissions are available online through Visit Canton.

The roughly 915-square-foot indoor welcome center will feature a mural encompassing multiple walls, according to Visit Canton.

One individual or artist team will be selected based on their submitted qualifications, concept andability to execute the artwork, Visit Canton explained in its call for artists. The proposed artwork must be original and not previously published or licensed to any third party.

Students, professional artists and artist teams are invited to submit qualifications for consideration.The call is open to artists who live, work or study in Stark County. Visit Canton's executive staff will review submissions and select an application to award the project.

Visit Canton's intention is to open the visitor information center in the first quarter of 2023, said Allyson Bussey, the local tourism agency's president and CEO.

"We are aiming for January," she said. "The art installation will be complete and part of our opening."

"The objective is to create an original mural that showcases Canton and Stark County with the work of alocal artist," Visit Canton says on the submission form. "The piece should be vibrant, positive and representative of Stark County as a fun destination. It is intended that this be a desirable photo opportunity for visitors stopping in thewelcome center, and a conversation starter to expose visitors to unique things to do throughout StarkCounty."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Art call for football theme at Centennial Plaza, mural at HOF Village