Note: Authored by David Menconi, this piece has been produced in partnership with Raleigh Arts. Menconi's latest book, "Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music," was published by University of North Carolina Press. His podcast, Carolina Calling, explores the history of the Tar Heel State through music.

Other than when you see them on the road while you’re traveling, street and road signs probably aren’t anything you give much thought to. Nevertheless, the City of Raleigh has a transportation department sign shop, which is tasked with creating, installing and maintaining everything from stop signs to exit signs out on the highways.

It’s a key piece of infrastructure that serves important safety functions, even if the work is largely hidden from the public. But this largely unsung department is getting a spotlight through a new year-long arts initiative, the Wayfinding Artist-in-Residence, a program billed as “a Raleigh Arts and Transportation creative collaboration.”

The first Wayfinding Artist in Residence is Katie Stewart, who has a background in graphic design and specializes in outdoor immersive installations. Stewart has an impressive body of work around town with art on display at festivals including Dreamville, Hopscotch Music Festival and Artsplosure as well as downtown Raleigh’s Illuminate Art Walk. She is also the artist behind a streetside installation called “Raleigh’s Smallest Park,” at the corner of Hillsborough and West Sts. (seen in header image).

 

 

 

 

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Stewart specializes in using repurposed waste scraps (which she calls “landfill-diverted materials”), and it just so happens that the Raleigh sign shop generates plenty of that. She’s using those materials to create a series of Wayfinding artworks that will be installed at various spots in downtown Raleigh later this year. 

^{Stewart's Tier 1 public art landmark designs}

The project involves four primary Tier 1 pieces plus smaller related “breadcrumb” works, which will point the way toward different landmarks, shops, restaurants, museums and other downtown attractions. The displays note walking times, with QR codes to scan for digital maps.

“The idea was to embed an artist into the sign department with access to all the cool tools they use,” says Jenn Hales, public art project manager for the City of Raleigh. “The idea is to shine a light on this hidden department’s great work, and to make it fun. It’s public art as a way to draw attention to public infrastructure that goes on every day.”

^{Stewart's proposed key fob-style wayfinding signage}

Along with its highlighting aspect, the project’s other main purpose can be found in its “Wayfinding” title—to help people navigate their way around downtown.

“They’re interactive landmarks that pull people in to start a wayfinding journey,” says Stewart. “Each landmark piece highlights and celebrates local culture and fauna. They’re also like photo-worthy virtual postcards, and fun sculptures to take a picture of. They’ll lend themselves well to that.”

That guidance function will be an important feature of the Wayfinding project, a way to guide downtown visitors from place to place (especially those who may not be familiar with the area).

“There are some real dead zones downtown that are not easy for pedestrians to move through, a lot of government stuff,” says Hales. “So how do we pull people through that from the museums over to where retail and restaurants are, and vice versa? One thing that came up a lot during the community-engagement phase of this was that folks going to the museums often don’t realize how close they are to other things. The Wayfinding pieces will point people toward things.”

^{Images courtesy of Katie Stewart}