Portage Public Art

The Portage Rotary club highlighted a presentation today about public art, and it's value to our city. Chair of the Portage Public Art Committee Roberta Christianson says it's not what people think.

"I think public art is one of those things that people automatically think about as the murals which are all over the place right now, and they are wonderful. They're a great way to decorate. But there's so much more than just murals. And sometimes public art can just be an occasion, and it can be something that only lasts for the time that you're actually creating it."

Christianson outlines other forms of public art that just might fit your likes.

"It's opportunity for community to get together and create something that may have no ability to last beyond that 24 hour space, or whatever. Public art is sometimes a way of celebrating heritage. Sometimes it's a way of just bringing people together. Sometimes it's just a way of learning about another culture. There are so many ways that public art can be used, and we just have to open up our imagination about what we want to achieve and how we're going to do it."

She adds, "Number one, for a lot of people, they may never see statues and everything. So, this is an opportunity to go out and have that feeling of relating to something without having to get dressed up, or buying a ticket, or do all the formal things around art; whether it's just sitting at a concert on the island or going to a powwow."

Christianson says art comes in many diverse forms.

"There's lots of things that happen that are art. You can enjoy them and just relate to some part of yourself and another part of another culture, or our landscape. There's just so many ways the public benefits. It's a reflection sometimes of the values and the makeup of our community. So, it needs to be diverse and interesting."