Children displayed their artwork at the Overture Center work site downtown Thursday as part of an effort to promote community involvement in the project.
Volunteers from the community group Leadership Greater Madison, sponsored by the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, organized the program as part of its annual project to benefit the community. Children at the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County and the Allied-Dunn’s Marsh Neighborhood Center provided the artwork for the site, which will remain on display for at least three months.
LGM member Anne Lucke said this project is a good way to involve children in the community.
“We thought it would be a great way for young children to create art that reflects the diverse aspects of Madison,” Lucke said. “It is also a way to encourage community identity and pride.”
Lucke also said part of LGM’s goal is to beautify the work site itself.
“We were trying to work with a vision of making an ugly construction site beautiful,” she said. “We wanted to dress it up and give it a community sense of ownership.”
The four panels being presented are entitled “Community Elders in Our Midst,” “Our Neighborhood: Map of Brams Addition, South Madison,” “The Old Days of Allied Drive” and “Allied in the Future.” They are displayed on West Mifflin Street across from the Madison Public Library.
Roberta Gassman, a member of the Overture Development Corporation, said the corporation accepted the project proposal because it offered a chance to give back to the community.
“We are committed to involving the community in the Overture Project,” Gassman said. “This was an exciting way to include children and help bring community art to a greater audience.”
Members of the Commercial Art department at Madison Area Technical College supported the project by printing the artwork on 4-by-8-foot weather-resistant vinyl sheets.
Gassman said the Overture Development Corporation is not sure how long the artwork will be on display, but the organization is interested in participating in similar projects.
“If more organizations would like to continue projects like this, we are open to all kinds of possibilities,” Gassman said.
