Six new banners like the fence line around a former industrial property on the Westside of Watertown. The images were created by local artists and will be displayed around for the foreseeable future.
The project was organized by the City of Watertown to make the area look a little nicer, said Liz Helfer, the City’s Public Arts & Culture Planner.
“The goal here was partly to beautify the fence, and to bring some more art into this space where we don’t have a lot of public art in this side of town,” Helfer said.
She recently led a tour of the artwork as part of a Watertown Walk organized by Live Well Watertown. The effort started with a call for artists.
“It’s call was called A Pleasant Landscape, and we’re talking about what it is to be near the (Charles) River, near the Pleasant Street Corridor, and to be in Watertown,” Helfer said. “And so the artists were inspired by these themes.”
Some of the artwork was inspired directly from the artists experience along the Charles, others are more abstract and are based on the person’s interpretation of the Charles River. The original images were significantly smaller than the banners, which were created by Belmont Printing.
Helfer said the banners will be displayed as long as the fence is up, or for the lifespan of the banner.
When visiting A Pleasant Landscape, a sign includes a description and a QR Code that takes people to a Story Map that provides more information. See the Story Map by clicking here.