Downtown Bloomington's sidewalks will be getting a summer glow-up in a joint initiative combining public art and public safety.
The Bloomington Public Library and Illinois Art Station are teaming up with Bloomington Revivalists to launch a “wayfinding” project installing temporary murals on 15 sidewalk segments for the summer farmers’ market season.
Central Illinois artists over 18 years old, living anywhere between Danville and Quincy to the east and west, and Stark and Montgomery counties to the north and south, are invited to submit a portfolio and summary of their community-based work.
A committee of community stakeholders will select three finalists, with each given a $250 stipend to create a design concept presented to Bloomington’s Department of Community Impact and Enhancement. The winner receives a $2,000 honorarium and $1,000 supplies allowance, with mural installation to be completed in May 2025 for a June 1 kickoff.
Bloomington Revivalists is a grassroots advocacy group affiliated with Strong Towns, a national nonprofit that supports urban planning concepts. The agency promotes walkable and bike-friendly communities, infill and communal housing solutions aimed at reducing vehicle dependency and suburban sprawl.
The 2025 farmers' market season serves as a pilot program collecting data to promote permanent sidewalk and crosswalk murals in the future. Applications are due Jan. 31, 2025.
City-sponsored public art has been largely stymied in Bloomington despite the city council approving a public arts commission four years ago.
Independent businesses and organizations have forged ahead, with new murals installed outside Red Raccoon Games and Illinois Tattoo, in Miller Park and between sidewalk cracks. The concrete pad installed on the McLean County Museum of History’s front lawn also will serve as a pedestal displaying three-dimensional pieces.
Once the current holiday season concludes, the Livingston’s Santa will be replaced temporarily by Twin City artist Herb Eaton’s 11-foot sculpture Cross Pollinated Lovers, marking the 25th anniversary of Bloomington’s “Corn on the Curb” initiative.
Organizers cite Urbana as a success story. The city unveiled a 5,000-square-foot mural last summer in the parking lot where that community's farmers’ market is held.
The wayfinding mural project is modeled on a 2022 study noting a 50% drop in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists in communities with intersection murals and crosswalk art in place for at least two years.
