by Bailey White
Staff Writer
The windows of some downtown buildings will be getting a little bit brighter, and not just because the lights are coming on.
Downtown Vision, Inc. is launching 100 Windows of Art, a project designed to enhance downtown streets by placing works of art in the windows of some buildings.
“Our purpose is to brighten downtown and to help its growth,” said Tony Allegretti, public art consultant for DVI. “Our goal is put art into 100 windows.”
Allegretti and DVI executive director Terry Lorince came up with the idea as a way to encourage people to walk around downtown.
“We’re hoping it adds some color and energy to the streets of downtown,” said Lorince. “And with the art museum about to open and other art projects in the works, this reinforces the idea that downtown is a cultural center.”
Allegretti, who hung a painting in the window at DVI’s office on Hogan Street, said he already has a good number of sites planned for the project, including windows at the Florida Theatre and Rock & Roll Pizza.
“We’ve gotten a lot of interest and we haven’t even made a formal announcement yet,” he said.
To participate, building owners or property managers can contact DVI, which will accept samples from artists who wish to participate. Submissions will go before a selection committee made up of members of the local arts community before a match between artist and building is decided.
“Any building downtown is eligible,” he said. “We’ll consider anything.”
The artwork could be a painting, sculpture or mural and Allegretti calls the piece in the DVI window a typical example of what’s to come in other windows. In some cases, the artwork might even highlight a building’s history.
“The Deloach Furniture building in LaVilla used to be the Richmond Hotel where jazz musicians [including Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald] would stay when they were performing in Jacksonville. The owner wants us to try to put portraits of those jazz greats into the windows there,” said Allegretti.
The program was designed to benefit both building owners and artists.
“The upside for the artists is that the 60,000 people who live and work downtown will see their art,” he said. “And since we’re not selling it, we won’t be making a commission off of them and they can sell it directly if they choose to.”
Allegretti expects the idea to progress quickly.
“By the week’s end we should be 10 percent complete,” he said, adding that he’d like to see 100 Windows of Art turn into an ongoing program. “We’re committed through the summer, but I’d like to see it grow.”