St. Charles art project transforms part of municipal building
Anyone driving through downtown St. Charles on Friday might have noticed the St. Charles Municipal Building looking more colorful than usual.
A fabric art piece sewn together by community members was draped over the southeast wall of the building Friday morning. The pieces making up the project - titled "Our City Sunshine" - were donated and sewn together by community members.
"It's a celebration of our collective efforts," said Amanda Browder, a Brooklyn, New York-based artist who oversaw the project.
The project has been generating smiles from people walking past the building.
"People come and they're like, 'Oh, my God. This is fantastic. It's so colorful,' Browder said. "It's been a blank white wall for so long. I love that it's along the highway. We have a built-in audience driving past, which is pretty cool. And it's a representation of the city. When people drive past this, they are going to remember St. Charles a little more."
Browder is known for her large-scale fabric installations. The St. Charles Arts Council received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that allowed her to come to St. Charles and coordinate the project.
Alison Bastian, former executive director of the arts council, was able to secure the grant. She attended Friday's installation with her children.
Browder was set to coordinate the project last summer, but it was postponed because of the pandemic. The temporary installation will stay up through St. Charles Jazz Weekend, Sept. 9-12.
St. Charles resident Deann Miller, who helped with the sewing along with donating fabric, marveled as she walked in front of the art piece.
"I like to sew and I thought it would be really cool to be part of it," Miller said. "My daughter also helped. And, so many people helped. I met a lot of really nice ladies. The energy that Amanda gave the project was amazing."
Installation of the 30-foot-tall, 51-foot-wide piece began at 7 a.m.
Arts council Executive Director Kathy Hill credited the St. Charles Public Works Department for making the work go so smoothly.
"It didn't take as long as we had anticipated because the city workers had prepped the roof," she said. "They could not have been nicer. They were amazing to work with."
More than 100 people sewed the pieces together. And enough fabric was donated to cover three buildings.
"Think about how generous our community has been to donate all that fabric," Hill said.
She believes completion of the piece is a fitting way to mark the 10th anniversary of the arts council, whose mission is promoting the arts, creativity and culture.
The group plans to do more community art projects.
"We'll do something community oriented every year," she said. "It brings attention to the fact that there's something going on in St. Charles in the art community. It just brings attention to the fact that we have art and culture right here in our town."
St. Charles 2nd Ward Alderman Rita Payleitner also stopped by Friday morning to see the finished project.
"It looks just like her concept," she said. "It's unbelievable. It's wonderful."
Visitors have a chance to meet Browder during a wrap party at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Arcada Theatre complex.
The party celebrates 10 years of the arts council advocating and celebrating the arts in St. Charles, and serves as a fundraiser for the nonprofit. It will feature food, entertainment and a live auction. Tickets are $110 per person and can be purchased from the group's website at stcharlesartscouncil.org.