Artistic Billboards Find New Home at Methodist College

Two re-purposed billboards are now taking up residence at Methodist College as part of an art installation. Two of the winners of ArtPop! Peoria 2015, the large pieces are now hanging inside the college’s campus in northwest Peoria.

“Untitled,” a digital collage by graphic artist Lawrence Keach, now resides in the east side corridor off of the Student Commons. “Three Red Barns,” a photograph by James Burnham, is hanging in the Parliament, the college’s community room. These original works were part of five pieces selected for the inaugural ArtPop! Peoria program in 2015.

The billboard vinyl pieces for the Methodist College project were acquired through a donation to Arts Partners of Central Illinois by Dr. Kip and Ann Strasma and an anonymous donor. The framing and installation of the pieces were funded through a grant from the UnityPoint Health – Methodist | Proctor Foundation

“The re-purposing of the artistic billboards was a unique and sustainable way to add art to our beautiful new campus building which features several large walls that were well-suited for these giant art installations,” said Dr. Kip Strasma. “This is the first time that vinyl from the ArtPop! Peoria project has been recycled as interior art.”

Each of the two pieces of vinyl from the billboards were cut into four sections and were then stretched onto large wooden frames and installed on the walls by local contractor Sam Zuercher.

ArtPop! Peoria is a partnership between Arts Partners of Central Illinois and Adams Outdoor Advertising.

ArtPop! Peoria is affiliated with ArtPop Street Gallery, a national program that promotes local artists’ work through available billboard space. Local outdoor media companies partner with local arts groups to create the ArtPop program. Work is juried, voted on and promoted in the market on available media space to a limited number of artists who are chosen for the program.