Gaylord entry wins $15K in 'Put Your Town on the Map' competition to bring art to downtown
GAYLORD — Some of the buildings in downtown Gaylord may start to look a lot more interesting after the city's entry into the 2022 Consumers Energy Foundation’s "Put Your Town on the Map" competition won the second place award.
Lisa Marie Tobin, executive director of the Gaylord Area Council for the Arts, and Sarah Harding of the Gaylord Area Chamber of Commerce, worked on the submission to the foundation and helped to secure $15,000 to dress up a three-block alley way running from the Gaylord Gateway Trailhead to Claude Shannon Park along Main Street.
"We will work with downtown merchants, the DDA (Downtown Development Authority), as well as business and property owners in this three-block area to paint murals on walls, install art objects (like a statue) and set up an area for special events," said Tobin.
Tobin said this project will be a very collaborative initiative. "It will require working and planning with the business owners as well as the merchants and the DDA to come up with renderings that everyone believes is appropriate," she added.
Tobin said the arts council will seek local artists to provide the labor for the project.
The concept of enhancing the buildings and adding art to the alley area was developed in part by Janice Lampert and Jill McKinley of the arts council. The pair did research and then looked to similar projects in other communities for inspiration.
Tobin said the alley running behind the buildings contain most of the parking for the downtown. "A lot of people walk through the alley to get to Main Street. This will help enhance an area that is used quite frequently," she said.
Tobin said the public is encouraged to submit ideas for the murals and art objects by emailing the arts council.
More: Competition to reward towns for community advancement ideas
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“Consumers Energy recognizes that Michigan’s small and rural towns may not have the same access as larger cities to resources to support projects in their communities. That is why we are so proud to celebrate the big ideas from our small towns and champion the Put Your Town on the Map contest,” Brandon Hofmeister, president of the Consumers Energy Foundation said in a statement.
A panel of judges chose the three winning projects on May 18 after officials from the 10 finalist communities made presentations at the 2022 Small Town and Rural Development Conference led by the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan.
The Put Your Town on the Map competition started in 2019 to reward ideas and provide critical dollars for projects that are being developed in small towns throughout Michigan’s lower peninsula. Communities with a population of up to 10,000 were eligible to apply. The Consumers Energy Foundation is the charitable arm of Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider.
The city of Big Rapids won the first-place award of $25,000 to modernize and enhance the Big Rapids Skatepark. The city of Hart came in third and received $10,000 to install 25 murals in the downtown and build a 20-foot tin man sculpture holding a huge heart.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord gets funds in 'Put Your Town on the Map' competition to bring art to downtown
