Grassroots advocacy group Strong Towns Blono has commissioned an artist to paint 15 sidewalk murals connecting the Bloomington Public Library to the McLean County Museum of History.
Strong Towns Blono president Noah Tang said right now there is no real connectivity between downtown and the library.
“If you are a pedestrian near downtown, the library doesn't necessarily feel like it's a part of downtown,” said Tang.
The wayfinding sidewalk murals aim to bridge the two institutions.
Incentivize walking
Earlier this year, Strong Towns Blono put out a call for artists to find someone to paint the murals.
About 34 artists submitted portfolios and three became finalists. One of those artists was illustrator Delia Kerr-Dennhardt.
“Her personal story was actually quite impactful for the committee,” Tang said, “because she is also kind of the target demographic for this project. She does not own a car; she does not have a driver's license.”
There are people in Bloomington-Normal who get around on foot and bike, and Tang said he wants to make sure the community is welcoming to those people.
A 2014 study about perceived neighborhood environmental attributes and adults’ recreational walking found that “aesthetics had the largest effect size on the odds of walking and on walking frequency” within a neighborhood.
“There's a bunch of urban planning studies that state, ‘Yes, you need to have an environment that is safe for walking,’” Tang said. “But you also need to have an environment that is pleasurable to get more people to actually get out of their cars and walk.”
A way to make the walking environment more pleasurable is to add art.
Sidewalk murals
Illustrator Kerr-Dennhardt was selected as the sidewalk mural painter because of her personal story and her theme choice, Tang said.
Kerr-Dennhardt decided to go with a circus theme for the sidewalk murals because of the history of the Gamma Phi Circus in Bloomington-Normal, and her family’s connection with the circus.
“I was lucky to grow up with parents who are theater artists,” Kerr-Dennhardt said. “And a lot of the people who helped to raise me were aspiring circus performers at the Gamma Phi Circus.”
The murals depict a parade of circus performers from Kerr-Dennhardt’s personal life, as well as some of the “most fun” acts.
“We have some pink elephants holding tails,” Kerr-Dennhardt said. “I wanted it to be like a fantasy type of circus. We have a fire breather. I've got a repeated character of a magic rabbit that leaps out of a magician's hat to sort of guide people through the way.”
Kerr-Dennhardt has been working with multiple painting volunteers and said she is happy when people come up to them to talk about the paintings.
“I got really happy when a mom told me that her daughter loves them and that she counts the bunnies. And I was like, ‘Yes, that was the goal. I wanted the children to count the bunnies,’” Kerr-Dennhardt said.
The 15 sidewalk murals can be viewed now until they naturally fade away. The murals are intended to be temporary.
There will be a celebration for the murals at the Bloomington Public Library at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 31.
