Center for the Arts makes call to artists for Northampton Banner Project

An example of the work selected from last year’s Main Street Banner Project through the Northampton Center for the Arts.
Photo credit: Northampton Center for the Arts

NORTHAMPTON — Several months after the initial Main Street project, the city is looking to continue the Northampton Banner Project by welcoming another round of artwork from talented artists across the region.

The Northampton Center for the Arts, the organization spearheading this initiative, is asking artists to submit designs across various mediums by May 30, and a donation of $5 to $50 per submission.

Multiple submissions are welcome, according to the NCFA website, and a total of 40 images will be displayed on 20 vibrant banners along the city this summer. The project is a fundraiser for the Barn Door Gallery at 33 Hawley, according to the NCFA. Joie Gonzalez, the NCFA gallery associate, explained that the Center for the Arts has a very clear mission statement and values that align with the gallery, as the space has allowed local artists of all ages to showcase their work.

“The Barn Door Gallery is something that the NCFA has stewarded since the full opening of 33 Hawley in 2024. Part of what the gallery does is represent our diverse community. We make sure that we are inclusive of all our community members regardless of age, academic status in the arts, accomplishments, whether they’ve been doing visual arts for a long time or they’ve recently come into the arts, and so this gallery space really kind of holds and fosters continued growth in the arts,” said Gonzalez. “The funds for this will help us continue in this mission and continue to help us grow, and, like I said, it’s relatively young, and so this kind of just helps us continue to sustain the space, continue doing the work we’re doing, and continue to support folks that have never exhibited before.”

The banner projects have been made possible through the support and vision of Craig Stevens of LandScapes Inc., a dedicated design and build landscape company working in Western Massachusetts for the past 25-plus years. Stevens has been a supporter of the Northampton Center for the Arts and the community, working with residents and recovery clients to build sustainable landscaping projects.

“Truly, this is a vision of Craig Stevens from Lanscapes Inc. He’s a wonderful community member who has always had a passion for helping Northampton beautify and grown and a big supporter of the arts, so he came to the Northampton Center for the Arts with this concept,” said Gonzalez. “There had been some posts in downtown Northampton that had not had any art or banners for a while, so he had this brilliant idea of collaborating with local arts organizations and local artists to kind of add some color, add some vibrancy, and I’m very glad that one of my co-directors, Kelly Silliman, said yes.”

Stevens has also collaborated with colleagues who donated the large River Birch downtown pots, supported the Habitat for Humanity and Hairston Recovery House, and organized community events throughout Northampton.

Gonzalez said last year’s banner project strictly focused on Main Street, and in total, the city collaborated with 50 different artists on the project. This year’s banner project will add 20 new banners around downtown to supplement what already exists on Main Street.

“Everyone had wonderful things to say and loved seeing their work. We got such wonderful images of the artists in front of their banner, just posting on social media. There was so much joy from this initial project, so when Craig came to us this year saying there’s some additional spaces that we hadn’t utilized last year and that he’d be interested in doing it again, we immediately said yes,” added Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said that NCFA will not be repeating artists from last year in an effort to make sure a fair chance is given to all local artists who want their work on display.

Anyone is encouraged to take part in the vibrant project that celebrates creativity and community spirit. For more information and to apply, visit www.nohoarts.org/bdg-bannerproject-call. The new round of banners is expected to go up sometime in June.

“Truly, anyone is welcome to submit whatever they’ve got. We are excited to see it all. We want diversity and variation and to just continue that in the work of the folks represented in the banners,” said Gonzalez. “Something I want to make sure is very clear to folks is that this is not limited to folks who live in Northampton. Something that we do is try to represent quite a bit of Western Mass., so it’s just a great way to get folks in and get folks excited.”