The City of Bangor will offer a little more to visitors this summer. Three artists will create six large scale wheat-paste installations on selected buildings, adding an entirely new dimension to the community.
The installations are part of a project by Bangor Beautiful – part of The Downtown Bangor Partnership – and Queen Collective. The collective is made up of local museum and art educators and a gallery owner whose mission is to bring more public art to Downtown Bangor. These wheat-paste works will be installed on June 2nd, 2018. The work will remain on the buildings throughout the summer and be removed in the fall. The Rock & Art Shop and Sohns Gallery will host a talk about the installations later in the season, giving the community an opportunity to discuss the work and meet the artists.

The project is a response to the positive community reaction to wheat-paste installations that have been installed in other communities in Maine such as Waterville and Gardiner. Kerstin Gilg, who worked on both the Waterville and Gardiner projects, suggested the idea when The Downtown Bangor Partnership was looking for ways to bring art into public areas in Downtown Bangor.

“There seems to be this rejuvenated interest in public spaces downtown,” Gilg said. “This is a really nice way to show that the downtown is a place for creative people and a place that people care about.”
Wheat-paste, which is typically made from four parts water and one part wheat flour, is inexpensive and temporary. People who frequent downtown really enjoy the additions. This type of work not only creates greater access to art but also serves as a welcome to visitors, and highlights the creativity that exists in our community.

The Queen Collective built partnerships with the local merchants who are sharing their buildings, and procured the support of the City of Bangor. Like many artists and collectives, the group created parameters to generate content. The guidelines that were settled upon were that the work needed to be an original piece of art, have a focus on flora or fauna, and did not advertise any existing business, product, or service.

This large scale wheat-paste project was made possible by funds provided by The Downtown Partnership and a matching grant from the Bangor Cultural Commission.

For more information contact: Annette Dodd, 207-974-6222, therockandartshop@gmail.com