Curated Storefront
Published: June 21, 2019
Curated Storefront’s “Reverie” by Ian Brill Honored Nationally at Americans for the Arts Convention in Minneapolis AKRON, OH (June 21, 2019) — Americans for the Arts honored Curated Storefront’s Reverie by Ian Brill among 50 outstanding public arts projects created in 2018 through the Public Art Network Year in Review program, the only national program that specifically recognizes the most compelling public art. Chosen by public art experts, the roster of selected projects was unveiled at Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention in Minneapolis June 14th. This is the 18th year that Americans for the Arts has recognized public art works.
Reverie by Pittsburgh-based artist Ian Brill was a programmatic light installation covering the entire facade of a vacant County of Summit office building in downtown Akron, Ohio. Consisting of 46 windows on four floors and 1,600 LEDs connected through the buildings pre-existing Ethernet infrastructure, the activation ran continuously, day and night for the better part of a year. Multi-colored LEDs reacted vivaciously through the direction of Brill’s original computer software making the facade its own performative digital artwork which was never the same twice. Over the course of two years, Curated Storefront produced 52 exhibitions that activated vacant storefronts with multimedia art installations in downtown Akron with Reverie being the largest and most impressive achieved to date. Brill’s animated architecture could be seen from afar and was an attraction for the city during FRONT International: An American City a contemporary arts triennial. The public art piece was especially noted as a spectacle during the darker winter months causing groups of football fans from the neighboring St. Vincent-St. Mary High School stadium to further explore its presence. Curated Storefront director, Richard Rogers said, “We are delighted that Americans for the Arts has chosen Ian Brill for recognition this year. Reverie was widely celebrated around the city of Akron, and made a dramatic impact along a blighted and neglected block on Main St.”
Ian Brill, an artist and professor at Penn State University said, “Upon completing this work, I was able to demonstrate an ability to work within a larger scale, with new technologies and implement my work in new ways that have already influenced other projects, currently on display, elsewhere. This work, in particular, has been a well-attended and well-marketed success. I would not have been comfortable committing to such an endeavor, were it not for the confidence and professionalism that this organization exudes.” “The best of public art can challenge, delight, educate, and illuminate. Most of all, public art creates a sense of civic vitality in the cities, towns, and communities we inhabit and visit,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “As these Public Art NetworkYear in Review selections illustrate, public art has the power to enhance our lives on a scale that little else can. I congratulate the artists and commissioning groups for these community treasures, and I look forward to honoring more great works in the years to come.”
The projects selected for Year in Review can be viewed on this page and were displayed throughout the Annual Convention. Two independent public art experts—artist Seitu Jones of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Aaron Ott, Curator of Public Art at Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York—discussed the trends they uncovered while examining hundreds of submissions in selecting this year’s choices for the most exemplary, innovative permanent or temporary public art works created or debuted in 2018. The complete presentation, which includes photos and descriptions of all 50 projects, will be available for purchase through Americans for the Arts’ store.
Follow artist Ian Brill on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Curated Storefront activates storefronts by transforming an unoccupied and uninteresting street edge into vibrant art displays in an effort to combat blight and create an engaging, safe and attractive environment. Downtown Akron was once full of life and energy but after decades of decline in population and lack of investment, much of its street-level infrastructure is vacant. For the past two years, Curated Storefront has presented engaging artwork in multiple unused spaces, commissioned and employed artists, offered educational outreach programs to better engage the public, and stimulated commercial development. More information about Curated Storefront and its other exhibits on display throughout the city can be found at www.curatedstorefront.org. Follow Curated Storefront on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. #CuratedStorefront #KnightArts
Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, it has a record of more than 55 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org. @Americans4Arts #PANYIR, #PUBLICART