The entry hall of the Conference Center at the Main Library is the new permanent home of the “Imagination Squared: The Creative Response Project” public art project.
The collective work debuted in the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Atrium Gallery at the September 2010 First Wednesday Art Walk.
Conceived by local artists Christina Foard and Dolf James, the assemblage consists of 910 5-inch-square paintings, each done by a different artist over a period of several months. Both amateurs and professionals participated, ranging in age from 7 months to more than 80 years old.
“From the middle of the project forward, I saw it going right there,” said Foard.
She said part of the location’s appeal is that it allows the work to be viewed from ground level in the Conference Center, or from above on the library’s first-floor Zimmerman Overlook.
The other part is that the library is one of the few buildings Downtown available to everyone whenever the door is open.
“It was done by the community and now it’s for the community. It’s public and it’s free,” said Foard.