North Adams Announces Downtown Crosswalk Art Project

Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The City of North Adams announced a public art project for downtown North Adams.

The project involves the selection of four artists to create artwork for eight downtown crosswalks. Each selected artist will receive a $2,000 honorarium for design and implementation. The project aims to enhance the visual appeal of the city for residents and visitors.

The initiative follows a previous project that placed artwork on ten downtown electrical boxes.

The project is a collaboration between the Cultural District Committee, Public Arts Commission, Assets for Artists, City Councilor Andrew Fitch and Mayor Jennifer Macksey.

Project Details:

  • Four artists will each paint two crosswalks.
  • The City of North Adams will prepare the crosswalks for painting.
  • Artists will be assigned specific painting windows due to street closure limitations.
  • Crosswalk locations:
    • Main Street & American Legion Drive
    • Main Street & Eagle Street
    • Main Street & Holden Street
    • Holden Street & Center Street
    • Eagle Street & Church Street
    • Ashland Street & Main Street
    • Center Street & Marshall Street
    • Eagle Street & Center Street

Project Timeline:

  • March 17: Open call begins
  • April 4: Submission deadline
  • April 14: Decision notification, crosswalk assignment, and request for final design submission
  • May 16 - June 6: Painting period
  • June 6: Finished product showcase at June First Friday

Submission Requirements:

  • One crosswalk art design example (.jpeg or .pdf)
  • Contact information
  • Statement of connection to and interest in North Adams
  • Optional: Link to website and/or social media page

Selected artists will be assigned two crosswalks with dimensions and must submit a final design for approval by April 25.

Submit art here

The North Adams Cultural District Committee, funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural District Funding and other grants, is coordinating the project.

 

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams City Council Hears Housing Authority Grievances

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Unhealthy odors, drugs, mold, peeling paint, unsecured doors, lack of security and frightened residents. 
 
That was the list of grievances that current and former tenants of the North Adams Housing Authority's high rise on Ashland Street laid before the City Council on Tuesday. 
 
"I've stayed quiet long enough. I've been professional long enough. Somebody needs to do something. Damn it! It's getting too bad over there. It's worse than it's ever been. There's more drug people there. There's more dealers there. There's drunks rolling around in there, drinking out front, doing drugs out front," said Tenants Association President Cory Fortin. 
 
"Everybody's pointing fingers at everybody. Let's all get together and do this damn thing. Get it done. I'm sick of it."
 
Tenants have been speaking out at council meetings about security issues and Councilor Lillian Zavatsky, liaison to the authority, requested time for Fortin to speak. The authority has been in some upheaval lately with the loss of commissioner and the abrupt resignation of the executive director last week. 
 
The association had called for a formal grievance hearing against Jennifer Hohn after she locked their offices. Hohn has not publicly spoken about her resignation. The Housing Authority is meeting on Thursday for "acknowledgement" of the vacancy. 
 
"My paperwork that I put in for my maintenance request, ah, disappeared. We have nothing on record. There's a lot of things that this board, this council, the mayor, everybody needs to look at the big picture," Fortin said, adding that some tenants were worried about attending the meeting because of fears of retaliation. "All I'm asking for is the right support and for this this council, this mayor, and everybody to do what's right."
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories