LEBANON, N.H. (WCAX) – Artists are at work in Lebanon, New Hampshire, to help make the Upper Valley as a whole a hub for creativity.
Whether you are biking, walking or running through the Lebanon Pedestrian Tunnel, new art is likely to catch your eye.
“So the title of this piece is ‘Patchwork.’ Basically, it is sort of an homage to the textile industry, formally of Lebanon and New England, of course,” said John Garoutte, an artist from Charlestown, New Hampshire.
Garoutte responded to an open call for artists a year ago, submitted his design and was chosen to leave his mark on a section of the wall.
“My rendition of a big patchwork quilt and it features different tableaus or patches that sort of represent life in New Hampshire and Lebanon,” he explained.
Other artists are also hard a work and some pieces are already complete.
Lebanon ArtWays is dedicated to celebrating and enriching public art throughout the city, whether it’s a courtyard downtown, poetry on the sidewalk or graffiti walls near the skate park.
“Certain as White River has made a splash on the Vermont side of the Upper Valley, Lebanon wants to do the same on the New Hampshire side because arts are worthy of being celebrated,” said Paul Coats, the director of Lebanon Recreation, Arts and Parks.
Coats says the tunnel, used regularly by visitors and locals alike, is the perfect location to continue to spread that artistic endeavor. It’s now a place where recreation and arts can come together.
“Here as an active recreation corridor, as the Mascoma River Greenway in this tunnel,” Coats said. “Why look at a drab gray wall when you can experience a cultural expression through art?”
“It makes people stop, look at it, think about themselves,” Garoutte said. “Think about what their town is and it gives them something to be proud of.”
The art in the tunnel will have at least a 10-year life span until possibly a new generation of artists comes along.