Main Street Palm Springs / Public Arts Bench Art Project
NEWS RELEASE MEDIA Contact: O’Bayley Communications – Bob Bogard 760-778-3525 • bob@obayley.net or Main Street Palm Springs – Joy Brown Meredith 760-333-6820 • info@palmcanyondrive.org
MAIN STREET PALM SPRINGS CONTINUES PROGRAM OF BEAUTIFYING PALM CANYON Expanded Program Utilizes Existing Artists to Transform Benches into Works of Art PALM SPRINGS –
September 3, 2020: Main Street Palm Springs, the city of Palm Springs’ Downtown and Uptown Business Association, announced that it will expand its existing street bench beautification project that it commissioned in July to include seventeen new artists who will paint existing concrete benches on Palm Canyon Drive. Main Street received funding for this project through a grant from the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission. This the next phase of this project will commission local artists to paint selected public benches in the Uptown area of Palm Canyon Drive. The artists will be compensated for their work by Public Arts Commission funds, which come from contributions by local developers and are restricted to be used only for public arts projects. With this expansion, forty benches will be transformed into works of art on Palm Canyon Drive. The artists’ designs for the benches were selected to tie into the businesses near the bench location. A floral design will adorn the bench in front of My Little Flower Shop, a food-related design will be applied to the bench near Cheeky’s, and others are matched in the same manner. The artists that will participate in this continuation of the bench beautification project include Katie Campbell, Wallace Covard, Jessyca Frederick, James Gallucci, Monica Garcia, Susan Gresto, Mark Johnson, Lynda Keeler, Siori Kitajima, Paul Kole, Tim Leary, Frank Lemus, Jessica Macias, Ernesto Ramirez, Brett Stevens, Emeline Tate, and Kat Trevino. The initial bench beautification program included ten benches, painted by local artist Tysen Knight, and eleven additional benches that were painted by ten local artists (one artist painted two benches). Members of the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission worked closely with Main Street Palm Springs on this civic improvement campaign. The new benches will be painted in the next few weeks.
“We are delighted that the public has responded so well to the bench program,” said Joy Brown Meredith, Main Street Board President and owner of Crystal Fantasy, a popular Palm Canyon retail store. “Rather than replacing these expensive benches, Main Street Main Street Public Arts Commission Grants, page 2 Palm Springs decided to help our local artists by providing Public Arts Commission grants to beautify them. Creating art on the streets is also a great way to provide a safe activity for community members that also helps our Downtown and Uptown local business owners.”
“We love this collaboration that the Public Arts Commission has with Main Street Palm Springs,” said Ann Sheffer, Chair of the PS Public Arts Commission, who has advanced this project, along with Commissioner Russell Prtichard. “One of the goals of the commission is to issue these civic improvement grants to employ local artists, and we are pleased that this project is continuing. We plan to work with the Visit Palm Springs to create an interactive map of all the art projects, so that they can be enjoyed by visitors and residents.”
In addition to the Main Street benches, the Public Arts Commission has created a MiniGrant program to match artists with local business owners to create art installations in storefront windows and at sidewalks, crosswalks, and patios. These projects are intended to enliven the streets and draw people to Downtown as it reopens. In keeping with the Commission’s theme of ‘Art Is Everywhere,’ these Mini-Grants will also be available to neighborhood organizations with the goal of bringing public art to neighborhoods, parks, and communities in the city. Details of both programs, and a registry of artists, can be found on the Commission’s website at pspublicarts.com.
About Main Street Palm Springs Founded in 1988, Main Street Palm Springs is the city’s official local Downtown and Uptown Palm Springs business association. It includes eight board members that represent various businesses and regions of the downtown and uptown area. PalmCanyonDrive.org
