Main Street Wooster seeks community feedback to shape future public art

Main Street Wooster is inviting all Wooster residents to take a brief community survey to share their ideas about what they want to see in future public art installations. The survey will take around five minutes and will directly shape new works of art planned for downtown Wooster, especially in the developing Arts District that is part of the City of Wooster’s Comprehensive Plan.

This survey is part of a larger project that was made possible thanks to a grant from the Ardelle and Theresa Glaze Foundation, with the goal of creating public art that reflects the community’s values, stories and sense of place.

Main Street Wooster has already facilitated several public art installations including decorative utility box wraps and Butterfly Alley, but there is more on the horizon.

“We want Wooster’s public art to be created with the community, not just for it,” said Shannon Waller, the organization’s executive director. “Every survey response helps guide our planning so that the pieces we install reflect the voices and vision of Wooster residents.”

The survey was developed after a series of focus group sessions were held within the footprint of the planned Arts District: West Liberty to West Vine and South Grant to South Market.

“We worked closely with the City of Wooster and the Wayne Center for the Arts to conduct these outreach sessions, which were designed and implemented under the guidance of Sustainable Economies Consulting,” Waller said.

The survey asks Wooster residents to share their thoughts about what themes, styles and elements they’d like to see represented in future installations. Questions include how participants define local artists, what artistic themes most resonate — such as celebrating industry, honoring history or reflecting nature — and what content would best capture the spirit of Wooster.

The feedback gathered will guide a series of public art projects designed to engage residents and spark pride in their community, reflect neighborhood voices through locally inspired art, and create visual connections between people, places and stories in downtown Wooster.

All responses are confidential, and residents are encouraged to forward the link to friends and family who live in Wooster.

Take the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Wooster-public-art. The survey is available through Oct. 31.

For more information email Main Street Wooster at info@mainstreetwooster.org or visit www.mainstreetwooster.org.