McHenry County aims to take more art to the public

For the past two years, supporters of the arts have been filling McHenry County's public buildings with the works of local artists.

Now they want to take their efforts into the open, literally, with the advent of an annual public arts project that will put the creations of regional artists on outdoor display at sites across the county.

The proposal is part of a drive to create the McHenry County Arts Council, a 12-member volunteer panel that would oversee art displays in and around county facilities, as well as direct the yearly public art project.

"With art you can do so much: you can reflect your history, reflect your diversity, it can educate and it can inspire," said Susan Stelford, curator of the county's growing art collection. "Put up public art and all those things can follow."

Backers of the plan, including several members of the McHenry County Board, hope to win board approval to create the council next month, then begin seeking members of the public to serve 3-year terms.

The proposal is an offshoot of the Artwork Sub-Committee founded by the county board two years ago to develop an art collection for display in county buildings. Using proceeds from county vending machines, the committee has installed about 100 pieces of art in public buildings, a collection highlighted by a 16-foot by 20-foot mural in the county courthouse.

"It adds value to our facilities and exposes local artists to the public," said Tina Hill, a county board member and chairman of the artwork sub-committee. "It gives our community personality."

Art for the program will continue to be provided mostly through donations, Hill said. Other costs associated with the program will be funded through vending machine revenues and whatever financial donations the council can obtain.

This year's public arts project, McHenry County's Quilted Barns, already is in the works. For the project, artists will paint a quilt design on two 4-foot by 8-foot pieces of plywood which will then be joined together and hung from the sides of barns easily viewable to the public.

The project, Stelford said, coincides with the county's effort to boost local agri-tourism.

"It's the kind of thing were people could come from miles away, get a map then drove around the county looking at these barns," Stelford said.