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Downtown offers chances to see murals, sculptures, other installations

A mosaic celebrating the arts will be the fifth installation by Public ARTWORKS, a subcommittee of Lycoming County Celebrates the Arts Alliance, when the piece by is unveiled downtown this spring.

The artist is David Stabley, a professor at Pennsylvania College of Technology. His mosaic, which will be installed on the brick building at the northeast corner of Fourth and Market streets, will bring more color and life to the downtown area, according to Laura Flynn, chairwoman of the committee.

The downtown area has blossomed with color in recent years, with new attention paid to including murals and sculptures on the sides of buildings and in public spaces. There already was a share of public artwork — the committee maintains a list of over two dozen pieces on its website — but the start of First Friday in 2001 sparked a trend downtown.

Positive community response to First Friday prompted the group to commission a mural. With the support of Our Towns: 2010 and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, the committee raised $40,000 for Lycoming County: Inspiration the Mural.

“Since the mural was about Williamsport, a lot of different groups became involved in it,” said Flynn.

What followed was the formation of Public ARTWORKS, which has been working since their founding in 2006 to promote and raise funds privately for artwork in public spaces.

“Public art captures the imagination of our community,” Flynn said. “It brings people together.”

The group’s previous work shows their community-oriented focus as a non-profit, frequently promoting art in the downtown area.

“The arts create value. The downtown looks really attractive now, with flowers, public art– the art attracts tourists and businesses. We have more storefronts, restaurants, and galleries now,” said committee member Judy Olinsky.

“It’s like the broken window theory — if people see a broken window, they will also pick up a rock and break the window. But if you fix the window, it’s less likely to get broken again. People will respect their surroundings,” said Flynn.

The group maintains a goal to add one to two new pieces of public art to Williamsport each year.

“Each piece can take two years or more to plan, create, and install,” said Flynn. “We wanted to work with the community, thinking, what do they love? The River Walk. So we added art to the River Walk.”

Among the pieces the group has installed are two along the River Walk: the bronze lumberjack “The Wood Hick” by Pamela Barner of Muncy, and the stainless steel fish titled “What Lives in There” by Michael Patterson of Oval.

The art on the RiverWalk is part of the Timber Trail, a 2009 project that celebrates Williamsport’s past as the lumber capital of the world.

In addition to telling stories about the city and its people, the artwork in downtown Williamsport has also helped the city’s economic development, creating a cleaner, more attractive city.

“Artists and communities are working together more than ever,” said Flynn. “And getting recognized for it. For example, the local colleges have been highly supportive of the public art.”

Through the group’s Call to Artists, anyone is able to formally propose an idea for public art at any time.

“We welcome ideas and working with different artists,” said Flynn.

The committee encourages the community to reach out if they are interested in designing and creating art, specifically to continue developing the art along the River Walk and West Fourth Street, which was dubbed Avenue of the Arts in 2008 during the Governor’s Awards for the Arts held here that year.

Although the organization aims to create and promote art whenever possible, the community remains the heart of their work.

“One of the most wonderful things we have done here is make everyone feel happier. The people are prouder, are having more fun, and are more like a community. They feel like they belong to something,” Olinsky said.

Olinksy’s observations make sense: According to some neuroscience reports, public artwork alleviates stress, evokes positive emotions, and creates feelings of pride and unity.

“Even in cases where a person may dislike a

particular piece of art, it encourages conversation,” chairwoman Yvonne DiRocco said. “People become engaged in what the city has to offer.” She explained that this is heightened when people see that the artwork around them reflects the history and culture of the area.

One of the group’s 2018 projects further exemplifies this line of thinking. “UNDERCURRENT,” a wall sculpture for the Lycoming County Regional Airport, was created by former Penn College art professor Fred Gilmour.

The piece was constructed from pieces of aluminum tube and colored plexiglass.

“‘UNDERCURRENT’ combines the sparkling life water of our region with the modern, forward-thinking of a vibrant and energetic community,” said the artist.

Major pieces such as “UNDERCURRENT” and the upcoming Firestone building mosaic are what the group is most proud of.

“The art betters the image of Williamsport,” said DiRocco. “And we all love our city.”

For more information, visit lycomingpublicartworks.org.

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