EP Asphalt Art Project

East Providence Asphalt Art Post-Installation Survey

We Want to Hear from You! The City of East Providence, in partnership with the East Providence Arts Council, recently completed the installation of five crosswalk murals on Mercer Street, near Hennessey Elementary School and Pierce Memorial Field. Funded by an Asphalt Art Initiative grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the purpose of the project is to improve pedestrian safety and revitalize public space through community engagement.

We are asking you to fill out the survey below to hear about your experience in this area since the project was completed. 

Fill out the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EPAsphaltArt

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PUBLIC NOTICE: MERCER STREET ROAD CLOSURE AND DETOUR SEPT 9 - 12

The East Providence Arts Council and City of East Providence, in partnership with Hennessey Elementary School, will be installing crosswalk murals on Mercer Street to improve safety between the school and Pierce Field. 

Mercer Street, from Fifth Street to Seventh Street, will be closed to traffic during mural installation from Friday September 9, 2022 – Monday September 12, 2022. It will reopen Monday morning before school starts.

Please note that the Pierce Field parking lot will only be accessible from Fifth Street – the entrances from Mercer Street will be closed to all traffic. Residents on Mercer Street and Seventh Street will be able to access their homes but no through traffic will be allowed.

It is important that drivers take notice of and follow the road closures and detour in order to protect the murals and the safety of the artists and volunteers who are painting. The road will remain closed for the duration of the weekend in order for the paint to cure.  

See map below for road closures and detour route:

detour map

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The East Providence Arts Council and City of East Providence, in partnership with Hennessey Elementary School, will be installing crosswalk murals on Mercer Street this September. Artist Anna Dugan, from Salem, MA, was selected through an RFQ process to develop a community informed design and engage community volunteers in the installation of the murals. Funded by an Asphalt Art Initiative grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the purpose of the project is to improve pedestrian safety in the vicinity of the school and enhance connectivity between the school and Pierce Field.

Community members of all ages are invited to help paint the murals during the installation days on Saturday September 10th and Sunday September 11th (rain dates are September 17-18). No artistic experience required - participants will be filling in sections of the design with designated colors (like "paint-by-numbers"). Please note, young children will need to be accompanied and assisted by an adult. This is a great opportunity to be involved in the creation of a beautiful piece of public art at your neighborhood school.

You can sign up for a volunteer slot using the form on SignUp Genius here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4aa5a829aaface9-asphalt

See below for more information about the project. If you have any questions, please contact Johanna at the City of East Providence Planning Department: jwalczak@eastprovidenceri.gov

PROJECT SITE

The project site is located on Mercer Street and Fort Street, between 5th and 7th Street, in the vicinity of Agnes B. Hennessey Elementary School and the Pierce Memorial Field Complex. Hennessy Elementary is a neighborhood based school with 250 students, a number of whom walk to school. Pierce Memorial Field is the city's primary recreation and historic athletic field complex, serving thousands of residents each year. This area is prone to drivers who speed and fail to stop at stop signs and cross walks. While the school does currently take safety measures through signage and cones to reduce traffic, this project aims to further enhance those measures.

The murals will be installed at five crosswalks along Mercer Street, between 5th Street and 7th Street. The mural locations are indicated on the map below in pink. In addition to the crosswalk murals, the city is also installing new concrete sidewalks on all four sides of the school. Sidewalk construction on Mercer Street will be completed September 2022 while sidewalks and curbing on the other three sides of the school will be completed spring 2023.

Mural Locations Overview

MURAL DESIGN

Artist Anna Dugan developed the mural design Whimsical Garden based on community feedback received through a pre-installation survey and a community design workshop. The colorful design depicts whimsical insects and animals that will enliven the project area and children can relate to.

Mural Design

KEY PROJECT GOALS

  • Transform the neighborhood with visually appealing artwork that inspires and uplifts residents and visitors.
  • Improve pedestrian safety in the vicinity of Hennessey Elementary School and Pierce Memorial Field Complex
  • Enhance social connectivity through creative placemaking and art activation.

TIMELINE

  • February 15th, 2022 // Call for Artists RFQ released by EPAC.
  • March 18th, 2022, 5:00 PM EST // RFQ Submission Deadline. All submissions are to be sent directly to EPAC via the EPAC website.
  • Late March, 2022 // Selection Panel reviews submissions and selects candidate.
  • May 26, 2022: The East Providence Arts Council, City of East Providence, and muralist Anna Dugan hosted a community design workshop at Hennessey Elementary. Neighbors, community members, school families and staff were invited to provide input on the mural design and other site enhancements
  • August 8, 2022: A design survey was circulated to Hennessey teachers and families to vote on their favorite mural design. The winning design was Whimsical Garden, featuring colorful animals and insects (see above).
  • August 24, 2022: The project team attended an ice cream social at Hennessey Elementary to unveil the mural design and recruit volunteers to help paint the mural.

  • August 27, 2022: Volunteer registration for the community painting days is open! Sign up here.

  • September 10-11, 2022 // Painting of street murals with community participation (rain dates Sept 17-18).

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The City of East Providence is working closely with the East Providence Arts Council and Hennessey School to make this project become a reality.

The project team hosted a community design workshop on May 26th held at Hennessey Elementary. Neighbors, community members, school families and staff were invited to provide input on the mural design and other site enhancements. Participants provided valuable feedback on pedestrian and traffic safety concerns in the area and how they would like to see the area improved.

A pre-installation community survey was circulated to school family and staff as well as neighborhood and community members in spring 2022. Feedback collected from 59 respondents was used in the creation of the design and will provide important data for project evaluation. A post-installation survey will be circulated later in September after completion of the project.

Community members of all ages are invited to help paint the murals during the installation days on Saturday September 10th and Sunday September 11th (rain dates are September 17-18). No artistic experience required - participants will be filling in sections of the design with designated colors (like "paint-by-numbers"). Please note, young children will need to be accompanied and assisted by an adult. This is a great opportunity to be involved in the creation of a beautiful piece of public art at your neighborhood school.

You can sign up for a volunteer slot using the form on SignUp Genius here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4aa5a829aaface9-asphalt

PROJECT PARTNERS
City of East Providence
East Providence Arts Council
Agnes B. Hennessey Elementary School

ABOUT THE ASPHALT ART INITIATIVE

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative grant program is designed to fund visual art interventions on roadways, pedestrian spaces, and public infrastructure in small- and medium-sized U.S. cities (with populations of 30,000–500,000) with goals of improving street and pedestrian safety, revitalizing and beautifying underutilized public space, and promoting collaboration and civic engagement in local communities. East Providence was one of only 26 US cities to receive an award during the current round of grant funding.

To find out more about the Bloomberg Asphalt Art Initiative and previous grant awardees and project examples, visit: https://asphaltart.bloomberg.org/

To see what other cities were awarded the Asphalt Art grant, please see Bloomberg’s press release from September 29th, 2021: https://www.bloomberg.org/press/bloomberg-philanthropies-awards-26-u-s-cities-grants-to-transform-streets-and-public-spaces-through-the-asphalt-art-initiative/

 


Project Updates (last updated 9/2)

February 15th, 2022: RFQ put out by the East Providence Arts Council seeking artists. Applications are due March 18th. See more here: https://eastprovidencearts.org/projects/east-providence-asphalt-art-project/

March 16th, 2022: Pre-installation survey is released to neighborhood surrounding Hennessey School and Pierce Field. See links above for online survey.

May 3, 2022: Community Design Workshop scheduled for May 26th, 4:30-6:00 PM at Hennessey Elementary (see above for details). 

May 3, 2022: Mural artist selected by East Providence Arts Council through an RFQ process. The selected artist is Anna Dugan, from Salem, MA. She has extensive experience with this type of mural work and involving community members in the installation. We are very excited to have her on board! Check out her website here:
https://www.annadidathing.com/

May 26, 2022: The East Providence Arts Council, City of East Providence, and muralist Anna Dugan hosted a community design workshop at Hennessey Elementary. Neighbors, community members, school families and staff were invited to provide input on the mural design and other site enhancements.

August 8, 2022: A design survey was circulated to Hennessey teachers and families to vote on their favorite mural design. The winning design was Whimsical Garden, featuring colorful animals and insects (see above).

August 24, 2022: The project team attended an ice cream social at Hennessey Elementary to unveil the mural design and recruit volunteers to help paint the mural.

August 27, 2022: Volunteer registration for the community painting days is open! Sign up here.