Local art festoons downtown in latest Celebrate Laconia banner project

LACONIA — The work of local artists now adorns the streets of downtown as part of a burgeoning initiative of Celebrate Laconia to produce seasonal banners.

“We're really trying to just add beauty and culture into the downtown area,” said Jaylene Bengtson, a board member for Celebrate Laconia.

Last summer, Celebrate Laconia joined forces with the newly formed Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative in commissioning student artists at Laconia High School to design banners inspired by the city and the classic play “Our Town.” Thirteen student-designed banners were installed on downtown light poles in August.

In the second iteration of what the group hopes will become a recurring project, Celebrate Laconia teamed up with the Lakes Region Art Association in Tilton and the Galleries at 30 Main in Meredith to gather designs depicting the beauty of the Lakes Region from 17 local artists across a range of media.

Unlike more generic city banner projects, Bengston said, Celebrate Laconia hopes that using the designs of local artists both showcases the beauty and rich culture of the Lakes Region and magnifies the work of participating artists.

“It’s really highlighting [Laconia] from a cultural standpoint and local talent, particularly in visual art and photography,” Bengston said. “It's giving those artists a chance to get their work out there.”

Twenty-five of these designs, some of which have already been installed, will hang throughout downtown until the winter months, when Celebrate Laconia hopes to swap them out for a set of new banners.

The group is already in the early stages of seeking designs for a winter-themed round of banners that will go in ahead of the holidays and remain until the spring. Each round of new banners are not one-time installations and will likely dress the area again, Bengston said, and the group also hopes to expand to other city centers like Lakeport.

Between the two collaborating art groups, 17 artists have signed on. Sherwood Frazier, a board member of LRAA, said several of these artists have already had people reach out to them about their pieces hanging downtown, and the LRAA’s gallery at Tanger Outlets has sold prints replicating the banners because of people who spotted the pieces on city light poles.

Frazier is a self-taught photographer from Gilford whose shot of the corner of Canal and Main streets hangs in front of Daub’s Cobbler Shop.

“I just thought it was a neat idea,” Frazier said, “and a great way for us to promote the work of our members.”

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