For Immediate Release: June 30, 2021
Media Contact:
Evelyn Darling, Executive Director
Worcester, Massachusetts – The Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District (BID) selected four local artist groups and a solo artist to assist in bringing new vibrancy to empty storefronts on Main Street in Downtown Worcester. The artists responded to the BID’s call for art with the theme “Downtown Reemerging” to create engaging window displays that enhance the pedestrian experience as the Downtown emerges from the pandemic and welcomes back businesses, workers, and visitors. As the organization continues to unveil its placemaking efforts, the focus on local art has become prevalent.
“Art is a great way to engage people and bring increased activity to an area,” says Evelyn Darling, Executive Director of the BID. “We are fortunate to work with all of these local artists on our storefront activation program, which is making such a positive impact in our Downtown community. Each window brings a new vision for Worcester and a sense of cultural innovation and imagination.”
The artists selected include:
“Creative Hub is excited to be able to participate in these Downtown art installations with the support of the BID because it is extremely crucial for arts organizations and individual artists to continue to have properly funded opportunities to exhibit and showcase their talent in Worcester,” said Creative Hub Worcester Executive Director Laura Marotta. “Our installation represents joy and playfulness, an energy much needed after the difficult year we’ve all had.”
The art installations will be on display in two prominent historic buildings on Main Street throughout the summer. MassDevelopment, owner of 526 Main Street, agreed to provide access to its empty storefront windows along Main and Chatham Streets and The Menkiti Group provided storefront space at the former Shack’s building at 403 Main Street. Each storefront is illuminated at night, providing continual access to these vibrant window displays and creating a new visual experience for those living, working, and visiting Downtown Worcester.
“We’re pleased to host art installations in the windows of 526 Main Street while we work hard to prepare this key building for revitalization,” said MassDevelopment Executive Vice President of Real Estate Cassandra McKenzie. “Artwork adds color, vibrancy, and foot traffic to downtown neighborhoods, so we applaud the Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District for spearheading this and other placemaking efforts in the area and supporting local artists in the process.”
This storefront activation initiative is the latest installment of the BID’s placemaking program. In the fall of 2020, the BID worked with The Menkiti Group and a number of local artists to install a multi-faceted art exhibit in the storefront windows at 554 Main Street. For Worcester’s 2020 Festival of Lights, the organization worked with property owners to display locally crafted LED snowflakes in windows across the District, helped to support winter-themed silhouette murals in the upper floor windows of 554 Main Street, and sponsored the installation of large illuminated geometric sculptures on the Worcester Common. In addition to these art exhibits, the BID has established a flower program, introducing 126 hanging flower baskets and 36 sidewalk planters throughout the District, bringing new color and beauty to the area.
This window display program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Worcester Arts Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District is a nonprofit organization established in 2018 to sustain momentum in the heart of Downtown Worcester. The result of a comprehensive community-based effort, the organization represents the owners of 140 properties and seeks to create a unique sense of place through enhanced investment and development, establishing and sustaining a vibrant, welcoming, and economically viable district for all.
###
