Arts Alive is continuing its Art Core project through Elm Leaf Murals!
Arts Alive partnered with Keene State College to produce temporary elm-leaf shaped murals to display in front of local art and culture locations in downtown Keene. These leaves were painted by students. The project is meant to highlight artistic wayfinding downtown and to encourage the exploration of downtown while celebrating the arts.
Students install the Elm Tree mural on the side of SHOWROOM in the Commercial Street Lot in Keene.
The leaves are wheat pasted in front of art-filled locations. The locations partaking in this project include the Colonial Theatre, SHOWROOM, 17 Rox, the Historical Society of Cheshire County, MoCo Arts, and Nova Arts. Each location wrote a letter of support to Keene City Council to voice their excitement about the project.
Artist Emily Heath holds up two of her designs at the Keene State studio art room.
In his letter of support, MoCo Arts Executive Director, Reagan Messer wrote, "These kinds of partnerships can encourage more student engagement with the community. Maybe they'll consider coming back to a city that supported them, or staying after graduation to be a part of the creative economy workforce."
Emily Heath, Lauren Shanahan, Kiernan Alati, Mina Hinkle, Olivia Wallace, and Aidan Urnezis are the student artists whose work is featured on the leaves. Kiernan Alati, a current senior, said, “It makes Keene feel more interconnected and unified,” when being asked about the project.
To complement the leaves, an elm tree mural is located on the exterior of SHOWROOM to highlight the project's objectives. This mural includes a message that encourages the community to find the tree’s missing leaves. This project is an interactive art installation to support wayfinding to arts locations in the downtown. The art brightens the locations and highlights the art activity that contributes so much to Keene’s local economy.
Artistic Director of the project, Keene State College recent grad Sofia El Hakim.
The project’s artistic director was Keene State College senior Sofia El Hakim. Hakim graduated this past week with a major in Studio Art with a specialization in Arts Management and a minor in Public Relations.
Friends of Public Art director, Georgia Cassimatis endorsed the project, saying, “Keene is lucky to have young people engage with the city and we should be proud. The project is well done and will be another opportunity to bring the Keene State College and City of Keene community together.” She went on to add, “After 7 years of working on paste paper murals in downtown Keene with Friends of Public Art, I am happy to see that other arts organizations are able to take a new spin on the idea.”
These temporary murals will be showcased throughout the summer and will be removed this upcoming fall.
Learn more about the Elm Leaf Artful Wayfinding and Keene's Art Core