Project Details

The Poole Road Public Art Project is funded by the 2017 Transportation Bond. Capital Improvement Projects that meet the Percent for Art Ordinance standards, such as this one, are eligible to use 1% of construction funding for Public Art. Inclusion of aesthetics and artwork is an investment in our communities, with a focus on community identity and equity in quality of life. Communities gain cultural, social, and economic value through public art.

The Poole roadway widening stretches from Maybrook Drive to Barwell Road. The design calls for widening Poole to a four-lane complete street with a median, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities. The project also seeks to improve bicycle connectivity from more rural areas of town to the Raleigh citywide bicycle system. Current plans include a 10ft multi-use path, dry detention basins, a transit stop, and a greenway connector to the Neuse River bridge.

This project will include stand-alone or integrated public art, which may include stand-alone sculpture, artwork sited at stormwater catchment site(s), and/or artwork integrated into pedestrian paving, lighting, benches/bike racks or other site elements. The artist will work closely with the design team, project stakeholders, and neighborhood groups to ensure a successful outcome.

This project is part of the Percent for Art program and is part of the Poole Road Widening Project.

About the Artist

Sharon Dowell is a painter with a focus on works on canvas, murals and public art. Intertwining themes course through her paintings; the energy of place, renewal, regeneration, and redemption. She believes that creative placemaking communicates distinctiveness and generates connections across communities. Thus, it is important for her murals and public art to also serve as a vehicle to give back and shape communities for the better.

She received an M.A. in Arts Administration from Winthrop University and a BFA from UNCC. She has served as an Adjunct Professor and Rowe Galleries Coordinator at UNC Charlotte and as Director for Center of the Earth Gallery. 

Her commissions include large scale mural, light rail station, and transit projects for Charlotte and Boulder, CO as well as murals for UNCC, the cities of Rock Hill and Concord, and bus shelter art for Durham. Her residencies include The McColl Center for Visual Art, Penland School of Craft, Vermont Studio Center, Can Serrat in Barcelona, Casa Lu in Mexico City, Tyrone Guthrie Center in Ireland, NES in Iceland, United Buddy Bear Studios in Berlin, and the Julia and David White Colony in Costa Rica. Sharon received multiple Arts and Science Council artist grants and her work is in several corporate collections.

Timeline

Estimated installation in Fall 2023

About Transportation

The City of Raleigh's Transportation Department consolidates transportation and related infrastructure. From planning transportation projects, system operation, and infrastructure maintenance, the department works to optimize service delivery and position the City for ongoing growth. Services provided by the department include transportation planning, traffic engineering, transportation field services, parking operations, GoRaleigh transit services, and highway maintenance.

About Raleigh Public Art

Mission: To create and integrate diverse artworks into Raleigh's landscape in order to establish a vibrant visual environment that provides public places with civic distinction, as well as fostering meaningful connections between people and place.

History: In 2009, the City of Raleigh adopted ordinances creating the Percent Art Program. The program allocates 1% of funds from capital construction projects for public art. Public art associated with City of Raleigh construction projects is managed by the Raleigh Arts Office. More information about Raleigh Arts can be found at https://raleighnc.gov/raleigh-arts  

The Atlantic Avenue Public Art Project is funded by the 2017 Transportation Bond. Capital Improvement Projects that meet the Percent for Art Ordinance standards, such as this one, are eligible to use 1% of construction funding for Public Art. Inclusion of aesthetics and artwork is an investment in our communities, with a focus toward community identity and equity in quality of life. Communities gain cultural, social, and economic value through public art.