Goshen's downtown to highlight local artists

John Kline, Goshen News, Ind.
·4 min read

May 10—GOSHEN — Local artwork will be front and center in downtown Goshen beginning this month as the city launches the 2022 Storm Drain Mural Art project and marks the 15th anniversary of the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau's Quilt Garden Tour.

During their meeting Monday afternoon, Goshen Board of Public Works and Safety members approved a request by Becky Hutsell, redevelopment director for the city, for permission to place eight locally created sculptures within the public right of way for a period of 12 months in recognition of the Quilt Garden Tour's 15th anniversary.

"For their 10-year anniversary, they brought, I believe, 70-some Seward Johnson sculptures into Elkhart County, and we had several here in Goshen," Hutsell said of the Quilt Garden Tour. "For the 15th anniversary, they are doing that again, but they are only placing the Seward Johnson sculptures — which were the life-sized bronze sculptures — at each quilt garden.

"They took what they learned the first time around, and people are very interested in seeing local art, and supporting our local artists," she added. "So, they are providing (funding for) four sculptures, and the city has said that we would provide funding for an additional four. The funding for the sculptures is actually a stipend for the artists."

Hutsell noted that the plan is to place the eight sculptures at various locations throughout the city's downtown corridor beginning this month.

"We are requesting permission to place these eight sculptures throughout downtown within the right of way, obviously outside of the walking path," Hutsell said. "All of them are created by Goshen artists, which I think is fantastic. A lot of them are Goshen College students that are part of the program there."

The planned locations for the eight sculptures include: 109 N. Third St., across from the courthouse; Edward Jones, 118 S. Main St.; Imagination Spot, 111 E. Washington St.; Merino Law Firm, 102 N. Main St.; Goshen Historical Museum, 124 S. Main St.; Goshen College, 1700 S. Main St.; the corner of Jefferson and Main streets; and Op1Vet, 117 S. Main St.

"The goal would be to have them up this month, and they would stay for a term of 12 months," Hutsell said. "And during that time, they would be available for purchase by the business owner that they're in front of if they wanted, or by the city, or by others. We're basically just providing a rental stipend to show off our local artisans downtown. So, we are requesting permission to allow for their placement within the right of way."

The city's contribution for the four sculptures will be $8,000, the funding of which will come from a pot of American Rescue Plan funding the city recently designated for public art projects.

The request was approved unanimously.

STORM DRAIN ART

Also Monday, the board's members approved a request by Jason Kauffman, stormwater coordinator for the city, for permission to initiate partial sidewalk closures at 10 storm drain locations throughout the city's downtown corridor for the upcoming Storm Drain Mural Art project.

"Painting for the Storm Drain Mural Art project is kicking off next week with artists painting at 10 different locations at various times through the month of May," Kauffman told the board. "Artists are expected to finish painting by June 6, 2022, and city staff will be applying sealant soon after with all work to be completed by the unveiling at Goshen Water Fest on Saturday, June 11."

Kauffman noted that in order to complete the project, some partial sidewalk closures will be needed to complete the painting, apply the protective sealant and allow the areas to dry.

"Before starting, artists are meeting with Storm Water Department staff to receive their supplies, including traffic cones and reflective vests," Kauffman added. "Artists and their assistants or supervisors will receive a brief safety training about cone configurations and other considerations."

The requested partial sidewalk closures were approved unanimously.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business, board members:

—Approved a $1,685,277 contract with Niblock Excavating for the upcoming College Avenue Bridge #410 Utility Relocation project.

—Approved partial lane restrictions throughout the Terrace Green subdivision beginning May 16 and continuing through Sept. 1 to allow for the removal of old and installation of new concrete pavement and ADA ramps throughout the subdivision.

—Granted a Goshen mechanical license to John Cabral of Pro Comfort Heating & Cooling LLC of Fort Wayne.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.