Cincinnati Eco Art Walk - Art with Green Lessons

Cincinnati's Future Blooms used paint, found objects and lots of imagination to turn the Vine St. Business District's empty storefronts into Green public works of art. The Eco Art Walk installations are an ambitious solution for commercial properties with limited tenant possibilities for the foreseeable future. For a minimal investment, the art installations have given buildings a face lift while teaching Green lessons to anyone who walks by.

Vine Street Business District - A Perfect Place for Eco Art Walk

The Cincinnati Vine St. Business District is several blocks of stores, restaurants and gift shops. It's a short walk to the University of Cincinnati; and in the past, that proximity meant local businesses thrived. In recent years, despite a nearby customer base and the draw of a major grocery store, national pharmacy chain and post office, some of the small businesses have closed their doors. The merchants left behind a sense of imminent decline. Vacant storefronts made the buildings prime targets for crime and vandalism and the perfect venue for Eco Art Walk.

Instead of empty storefronts, Eco Art Walk installations now provide an artistic diversion for Vine St. pedestrians. Each artwork has an environmental lesson concisely written and posted in the window. The artists have made the works colorful, unusual and interesting; and the art filled spaces help minimize the sense of abandonment and neighborhood decline.

Future Blooms recently held an Eco Art Walk event to reveal their installations to the community. Here are a few of the artworks now visible to pedestrians walking along the Vine St. Business District:

The "Transforum"- an Eco Art Walk Installation by Live Well Collaborative

Live Well Collaborative designed this installation to educate the public about recycling and the future of mass transportation in Cincinnati. Students from U C's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning collected recyclable items in the Uptown, Over the Rhine and Downtown Cincinnati neighborhoods.They used them in an artistic rendering that spans three large windows. It illustrates the planned street car route that will eventually connect these neighborhoods together.

"Found Forrest - Reconsidering Nature" - an Eco Art Walk Installation by Future Blooms

This work includes found cardboard, fabric and objects from nature. It's Green intent is to promote second hand furniture, books and clothing that help save the energy it would take to create new goods. It also hopes to draw your attention to composting food wastes and yard clippings and disposing of wastes to leave no traces behind in the great outdoors.

"Carpet Topography - Geodesic Wall"- an Eco Art Walk Installation by Future Blooms

This installation is a 3 dimensional geodesic pattern constructed from carpet. It's designed to draw attention to the 5 billion pounds of carpet thrown away each year. Cast off carpeting accounts for 3% of total landfill space. That's a problem because of the sheer volume of carpet trash, but carpet may also contain PVC and Polypropolene, chemicals that can contaminate groundwater.

The geodesic pattern is also painted on the door.

From Boards and Barricades to Beauty

Future Blooms is a Keep Cincinnati Beautiful program. Eco Art Walk is only one of Future Blooms' ongoing projects. They have also taken on the job of increasing the aesthetic value of long abandoned properties in other neighborhoods. That's a difficult task with so many boards and barricades protecting the structures from further damage. To solve the problem, Future Blooms' workers camouflaged the boards and barricades with "painted representations" of windows, doors, awnings and flower boxes.

They have painted abandoned buildings in several neighborhoods. The results are simple yet striking; and they are accomplished with a minimal cash outlay. Future Blooms' artists also paints murals. While they are not like the detailed works of art found on walls and buildings throughout Downtown, they offer simple and colorful enhancements to distressed city neighborhoods.

According to the Future Blooms website, their beautification projects have led to "a significant reduction in crime.., less blight, and increased property values." They hope Eco Art Walk will bring similar results to it's Cincinnati neighborhood.

Source:
Future Blooms Eco Art Walk event

http://www.keepcincinnatibeautiful.org/index.php/main/show/futureblooms