By Miles Hilton,
Jamestown – ArtScapes includes over 50 works of original art by local artists in the Jamestown area. It is the result of a partnership between local artists, the Chautauqua Art Gallery, Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, and the Jamestown Parks Department.
ArtScapes is a public art program promoting local artists as well as encouraging visitors and residents to experience downtown Jamestown. The program solicited artwork from residents of Chautauqua County, as well as artists living within 35 minutes of Jamestown. A jury of regional arts professionals winnowed the nearly 250 submissions down to the 53 works currently on display. In addition to the banners around downtown, the Chautauqua Art Gallery hosted an indoor exhibition of the selected works from mid-June to mid-July.
Leslie Calimeri, owner of the Chautauqua Art Gallery, began envisioning the project as a college student in Winchester, Virginia, which has hosted an ArtScapes gallery for almost fifteen years. The idea took several years, and many conversations with Frank Bessie, now Executive Director of the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, to come to fruition.
Calimeri shares that part of her “personal goal” for the project was for the exhibit “to be equitable”. “I wanted it to be inclusive, area-wise and of a variety of artists,” she says, including those who “don’t consider themselves artists but have really good art that deserves to be shared.” In service to this vision, there was no fee to submit artworks. Calimeri advertised the call for entries widely – on Spanish-language radio, to partner programs of the United Way, and through the network of county public school art teachers, to name a few. Still, says Calimeri, “I always wonder who we didn’t reach.”
The works on display present a varied slice of the local arts scene. Art of many mediums “really translated nicely to the banners”, says Calimeri. Among jewelry, illustrations, paintings, fiber arts, photography, and ceramic pieces, there are many works inspired by Jamestown and the surrounding area. The diversity of styles, mediums, and subjects, along with the outdoor environment and active viewing experience, makes for an enlivening and inspiring encounter with art.
visitors and residents to experience downtown Jamestown. The program
solicited artwork from residents of Chautauqua County, as well as artists living within 35 minutes of Jamestown. The program is supported by the sponsorships of many local businesses, whose names are printed alongside the artists
August 17th will be the perfect time to explore ArtScapes, by participating in Chautauqua Art Gallery’s Drawn Together art walk. Drawn Together celebrates a year of group figure-drawing classes at the gallery with an exhibit of works, and many local businesses will play host to artists who will demonstrate their techniques live. The walk will coincide with the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation’s Third Thursday concert at Winter Garden Plaza. An ArtScapes walking tour brochure will be available at tourist attractions and hotels around the region, including at the Chautauqua Art Gallery, for self-guided gallery-goers.
Many of the artworks on display are also available for purchase through the Chautauqua Art Gallery, at www.chautauquaartgallery.com/artscape. The banners will remain in place “as long as we can keep them up, until we do a new ArtScapes project”, says Calimeri, adding that “our hope is to do it annually”.
ArtScapes is supported by the sponsorships of many local businesses, whose names are printed alongside the artists’ on the banners. The inaugural exhibit received additional funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, and donations from the Sheldon Foundation Director’s Discretionary Grant.
While next year’s exhibit is still in the planning stages, Calimeri hopes to “pull in more partner organizations”, solidifying ArtScapes as a sustainable program where “for-profit businesses directly support” public art. She is also considering instating artist awards, while continuing the practice of free submissions that makes the exhibit accessible to all.