10/07/2015 - Tigard SubUrban Art e
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
NEWS RELEASE October 7, 2015
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Sheri Stuart, Oregon Main Street Coordinator
503.986.0679
sheri.stuart(aoregon.gov
Tigard Suburban Art Receives
Excellence in Downtown Revitalization Award for Best Special Event
The Tigard Downtown Alliance Suburban Art event received an Excellence in Downtown
Revitalization Award for the "Best Special Event" from Oregon Main Street on Oct. 7 during the
Oregon Main Street Annual Conference in The Dalles. This award recognizes excellence in a single,
downtown special event, festival, or promotional series. Elise Shearer with the Tigard Downtown
Alliance was on hand to accept the award.
The Tigard Downtown Alliance wanted to create an interactive event to engage community members
and to showcase to the possibility of enhancing downtown through the arts in a suburban setting. They
decided to create a SubUrban Art project to expand their Art Walk. The event included commissioning
five graffiti artists to participate in a day-long exhibition and adding a pop-up Art Gallery in a vacant
storefront on Main Street. The resulting urban art/graffiti panels were placed around downtown Tigard.
Adding these components to the Art Walk increased the number of businesses hosting local artists and
doubled the number of professional artists participating in the 2-week event. Plus the ten urban art
murals created will be auctioned off to raise funds for another round of public art.
"The Tigard Downtown Alliance has demonstrated that property owners,business owners and
residents in Tigard care about this downtown," said Lloyd Purdy, Economic Development Manager for
the City of Tigard. This organization is a great partner to City Hall and an asset to our community."
"This was a unique spin on a traditional Art Walk and a terrific event for downtown Tigard," says
Sheri Stuart, Oregon Main Street Coordinator. "Plus, the urban art panels provided an opportunity for
the Tigard Downtown Alliance to test the idea of a recurring public art program downtown."
The Awards Presentation was a highlight of the Oregon Main Street Conference, a popular semi-
annual conference that brings together people with an interest in downtown revitalization.
Oregon Main Street is part of Heritage Programs, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. For more
information about Oregon Main Street, visit www.oregonheritage.org or contact Sheri Stuart at 503-
986-0679 or sheri.stuartkore og n.,.og_v.
Local Contact: Lloyd Purdy, Economic Development Manager, Tigard
Telephone Number: 503.718.2442
Email Address: lloydp@tigard-or.gov