LANSING, Mich. — The Art Council of Greater Lansing is taking art to the streets and even to the skies. Lansing artists will get showcased on digital billboards throughout the Greater Lansing area for the next year.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and state-wide safety policies in effect, the art community has been deeply impacted. Galleries have been closed. Shows have been canceled. Community events have moved to digital Zoom rooms.
Being able to spotlight artists in this time is especially important to the Art Council’s Communications and Media Manager Dawn Gorman.
“There's a lot happening even though we're going through some difficult times right now,” said Gorman. “They're the ones that are making things a little bit easier in the community by creating art and creating events that we can attend from far away or online, things like that.”
Artists from all over the Greater Lansing Area submitted their designs back in October of this year. A panel of artists, graphic designers, and gallery owners familiar with the art council then narrowed down the 40 or 50 designs to the final six winners.
Sara Pulver, Freelance Illustrator
Laura Gajewski, Art Teacher
Kelly Hansen, Arts and Culture Instructor
Cheryl Grabski, C Grabski Designs
Jacob Erickson, Artist
Stephanie Gregg, Artist
“We have a vetting process that we go through to look at each one. They look at certain aspects and one of the biggest ones being the creativity that went into the piece and how readable it’ll be on a billboard,” said Gorman.
Thanks to a partnership with Adams Advertising, the billboards will continue to cycle through digital advertising for the next year. Billboards can be found all over the Lansing area with known locations in Lansing, Haslett, Jackson, and Fowlerville.
Each artist will occupy a billboard cycle for a full two months starting in January 2021. For now, you can see any one of the 6 winning designs as it cycles through. Adams Advertising fills blank slots typically used for advertisements on their digital billboards with designs from the contest winners instead. These billboard slots are made possible by funding from the Ingham County Hotel Funds for Tourism.
Keep your eyes to the skies, you could find a local spotlight when you least expect it.
As Gorman puts it, “once you start looking for them, then you see them everywhere. It’s really fun!”
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