Utica

Billboard Art Project wraps Utica exhibition on Hall Road

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Brad D. Bates From May 28 to June 24, the electronic billboard on M-59 in Utica was home to an exhibition from the Billboard Art Project. Photo by Brad D. Bates From May 28 to June 24, the electronic billboard on M-59 in Utica was home to an exhibition from the Billboard Art Project.

UTICA — Anyone driving on eastbound Hall Road near Van Dyke from May 28 to June 24 can boast being more cultured for their shopping trips or commutes.

Motorists were transformed into museum goers thanks to the Billboard Art Project, which featured a digital exhibition on the electronic billboard located adjacent to Utica City Hall as it flashed artistic images rather than the usual advertisements.

“It is a nice change from the bank ads that we normally see,” City Councilwoman Faith Terenzi said of the art project in an email.

Along with adding an artistic flair to motorists’ days, it also gave downtown Utica a jolt of excitement to start the summer.

“The project is great — I love it,” Robert Lootens said. “I water flowers along Van Dyke seven days a week, and it’s great to do your job and watch art.”

Lootens works for the city’s Downtown Development Authority and said he felt it was an honor that his town was picked to host an exhibition.

“You think of all the cities in Michigan that have one of these billboards, and Utica got the chance,” Lootens said “I think that’s pretty significant.”

The Billboard Art Project, which is a nonprofit corporation based in Virginia with federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status, has been running since October 2010, when it was founded as a means to bring art to the masses in an unconventional manner.

“When you see a billboard that isn’t telling you what to buy or who to trust, it carries the impact of the unexpected,” Billboard Art Project Director David Morrison said in a statement on the projects website www.billboar dartproject.org.

“While there are certainly limitations of what artists can put up on the billboard relative to public decency and the protection of corporate relationships, the possibilities for participants really are endless,” Morrison added.

“The Billboard Art Project is a viable artistic medium that takes art out of its normal confines and clusters and allows for the marvelous inadvertent discovery that wakes people from the mundane.”

As part of the project, local artists, or anyone interested, were invited to submit a work at a Community Art Day June 9. Their submitted works were presented on the billboard June 23-24.

“The Billboard Art Project is your neighbor,” Morrison said. “It’s that 9-to-5 manager who sketches behind the checkout counter in her spare time. Maybe it’s an acclaimed artist who simply wants to give something to the masses.”

Anyone interested in helping fund the project with a tax-deductible donation can contact the project at www.billboardart project.org or mail to Billboard Art Project, 3119 Moore St., Richmond, VA 23230.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.