It’s not uncommon to come across one of the many works of public art displayed across Newark - much of it clustered along Main Street and on the Univ. of Delaware campus.
The current total comes in at just over 100 works - with dozens displayed along the length of Main Street. Christian Kanienberg says it’s not uncommon for pedestrians to stop and snap a photo.
“I’ve had experiences where police have driven by and literally just dropped off a bottle of water to me, or, you know, students or kids have walked by and just stared with their jaws hanging down, said Kanienberg, a Wilmington based artist and owner of WISH, an interdisciplinary art business that works with clients on a variety of commissions.
He aims to promote unity between Newark and UD with his mural displayed outside of the Newark shopping center. The piece, “Newark Bounty,” displays both iconic UD imagery like the blue hen and fictionalized UD athletes, along with wider Newark Delaware symbols such as the Stone Balloon and Delaware area code in a distinct blue monochromatic style.
“I like to think it brings about a point of public pride, of community pride,” he said.
The process of bringing art from the mind of artists to the public is hardly a straightforward one. Artists must secure permission from government officials or property owners before even raising the necessary money.
“My goal is to make for Newark residents and/or students… My goal is to make those people proud of not just the mural, but how it represents where they live.”Wilmingtom artist Christian Kanienberg.
Organizations like the Newark Arts Alliance exist to guide artists through these challenges. Artist and former Newark Arts Alliance Executive Director Terry Foreman says roadblocks were common during her time with NAA.
“That can be very daunting for most artists, to find the right person who can give you permission to use that space for a mural,” said Foreman. “A lot of property owners or if it’s a government organization, whoever it is, are always worried that the murals won’t be well received or won’t hold up or won’t be maintained or the target of graffiti at some point.”
Despite the obstacles, Foreman and other founding members produced numerous works of public art across and around Main Street for over twenty years, like the community mural featured across the street from the Newark shopping center. That mural features a scrapbook with photos of monuments from Newark’s past surrounded by original characters meant to represent Newark residents.
For Foreman, NAA’s art served as a point of Newark community pride, pride she worries is fading under the growing influence of UD.
“I think the city of Newarkers, the Newark community overall, wants to see some representation of themselves still having a toe in the game or downtown Newark. They’re remembering downtown Newark from the 50s and 60s and even 70s when the university was there but it wasn’t omnipresent,” she said.
In late April, conversation regarding Main Street took a dramatic turn following the death of a UD student and injury of numerous others after two people attempted to flee from police in an overdue U-Haul. While conversations about how to respond to incidents like that one and keep Main Street safe are a priority, so is maintaining a positive feeling about a place so crucial to the fabric of Newark.
Jessica Ball, director of the Delaware Division of Arts, says that’s where Newark’s public artworks can play a role.
“We all want to live in spaces that feel beautiful and well designed, and public art plays a big role in the way that our built environments make us feel when we’re walking down the streets or hanging out at a park,” said Ball.
It’s a concept that goes beyond just beautifying spaces like Main Street. Ball says art can help define a place and community on a broader scale by exposing lesser-known features of a local population, like the recently launched American Legion mural in Smyrna.
“Before the mural, a lot of people didn’t know that the American Legion was there or just saw this blank box building and didn’t know what it was. Painting a mural on a very public facing street side of their building really allowed the American Legion to show the community that they're there,” she said.
Delaware Division of the Arts’ latest initiative is a community map detailing crowd sourced location marks for each art piece Delaware has to offer. According to Ball, input from Delaware locals is of utmost importance to help make up for the small size of DDOA’s team. While a first pass at making the map has been made, community input is the next step for the initiative.
“We all want to live in spaces that feel beautiful and well designed, and public art plays a big role in the way that our built environments make us feel when we’re walking down the streets or hanging out at a park.”Jessica Ball, director of the Delaware Division of Arts
Ball says that those interested can look to their website for a link to submitting unidentified pieces of artwork.
“There is no statewide public art map and so we’re excited to build it out with the community,” she said.
In Newark, where the city volves alongside the University of Delaware, a unique opportunity arises. Artists’ work can break down walls that often separate communities of temporary students and longtime locals by embracing each of these communities equally and connecting them through their shared experiences.
Luckily for any aspiring artists ready to take on that challenge, there’s already the examples set by those who previously took the plunge – like Christian Kanienberg.
“My goal is to make for Newark residents and/or students… My goal is to make those people proud of not just the mural, but how it represents where they live,” said Kanienberg.
