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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014
PAGE 3
14
LOCAL
Lawrence art community fights to preserve local mural
KAITLYN KLEIN
news@kansan.com
calls browse the Lawrence Farmers Market in front of the "Pollinators" mural. The City of Lawrence, the art community and developers are working together to preserve the artwork.
KAITLYN KLEIN/KANSAN
On a walk to the Lawrence Farmers Market, you're surrounded by art. There's a statue on a street corner and a musician playing guitar outside a local business.
Once you arrive at the Market, you find more local musicians, people gathered around booths to buy produce and a giant mural where art and community merge together.
A quote by Kansas poet Gwendolyn Brooks hovers above the scenery as if marking a community creed: "We are each other's harvest, we are each other's business, we are each other's magnitude and bond."
Lawrence resident Dave Loewenstein is a nationally recognized muralist and argues that art is integral to any community's identity.
"The stories and voices that we see represented around us in our town say a lot about who we are and what we value." Loewenstein said.
Recently, the Lawrence art community caught the attention of the Lawrence City Commission. A local development project led by Lawrence businessmen Doug Compton and Mike Treanor was set to encroach on the community mural that has become a part of the Market. The "Pollinators" mural, located at 9th and New Hampshire, was in the way of progress.
Loewenstein and a group of community members created the mural in 2007 with the help of the Spencer Museum of Art, which commissioned the project to honor Aaron Douglas. Douglas was an African-American painter from Topeka, who made a major contribution to the Harlem
Renaissance.
When it became clear the hotel and underground parking lot development project would require the building "Pollinators" rests on to be torn down, Loewenstein and Susan Earle from the Spencer started working to save it.
For the past 18 months Loewenstein, Earle and others have been fighting to preserve the mural.
"They genuinely appreciated us giving them the history," Earle said of the developers.
Loewenstein felt it was important to receive input from stakeholders, including the people who created the mural and people from the neighborhood where the mural is located.
nership with the development project.
After discussing the options with various groups and organizations, Loewenstein and representatives from the Spencer crafted a proposal to present to the Commission earlier this month.
"He [Loewenstein] has been really steadfast and creative and flexible, which has been a huge help to us," Earle said.
Although the City of Lawrence doesn't have a direct say in what happens to the mural, the Commission voted on whether or not to provide up to $24.5 million in bonds to the development project. According to the Lawrence Journal-World, the developers have agreed to provide $20,000
"People wanted to see this mural in some form exist in
The parties developed three options for the mural: preserve the existing mural, move the mural to an alternate location or recreate the mural in part-
other location.
"The stories and voices that we see represented around us in our town say a lot about who we are and what we value."
DAVE LOEWENSTEIN
Muralist
this place," Loewenstein said. "It wasn't good enough to have it moved somewhere else or recreated somewhere else."
Because of the value of having "Pollinators" in the present location, the proposal sought to work with the developer to recreate the mural instead of attempting to move it to an-
to the mural project, which is estimated to cost $50,000.
"Because the Commission was going to vote on whether or not they got this tax break — public money — they saw it in their interest to also address this issue that was in the public's interest," Loewenstein said.
This particular problem reflects a broader issue — balancing economic development and community values — that art communities struggle with every day across the country.
"It's extraordinarily rare to hear a city council or city commission spend so much time talking about community art," Loewenstein said.
Loewenstein said the time spent on this issue speaks well to the future of how the city engages with these issues of art and culture. In fact, a recent job posting by the City suggests that art and culture will be a part of the conversation more frequently in the future.
The new director of art and culture will, according to the job listing, "Work with various arts and cultural institutions, organizations, creative businesses and individuals in Lawrence to enhance collaboration and collaborative activities." Diane Stoddard, assistant city manager, said Lawrence is known for its art and culture, and the City recognizes how
art and culture increases quality of life among local citizens.
"This position will be involved a lot in trying to foster collaborative efforts amongst organizations and artists;" Stoddard said.
While the future of the "Pollinators" mural hinges on an agreement between the Spencer, the developers and the artist, the process has allowed a relationship to bloom between the City, the art community and local developers.
Earle sees the process as a victory for all involved with the mural, as well as the Lawrence community as a whole.
"All the parties involved are committed now to recreating it." Earle said.
Klein is a reporter for the KU Wire Service.
— Edited by Amber Kasselman
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