COVER STORY
Signs of the times
19 local artists offer hope in Worcester’s ‘Give Me A Sign’ project
RICHARD DUCKET T
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Ryan Flynn, 12, by his sign at Quinsigamond State Park. Ryan’s drawing was chosen for the Give Me A Sign project, which is putting up signs with hopeful messages around the city during the pandemic. ASHLEY GREEN
A U G . 27 - S E P T. 2, 2020 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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he signs are everywhere. Well, if not quite everywhere, there are now numerous new street signs across Worcester with such encouraging messages as “Thank You For Being Yourself, “Call Your Loved Ones, “The Woo Loves You,” “Better Days Are Ahead” and “Your Work Is Not Your Worth.” 140 street signs have been or are being put up as part of Worcester’s “Give Me A Sign” project featuring public works of art by 19 local artists. The project is a partnership with the City of Worcester Cultural Development Division, the Worcester Cultural Coalition and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, and seeks to provide visual encouragement throughout Worcester on 12-inch-by-18-inch metal signs, with select works also on digital billboards around Worcester. “One thing I really like about public art — you might hit someone who really needs that message but wasn’t going to see it,” said Worcester artist Pam Stolz. One of her signs with the message “Your Work Is Not Your Worth” is downtown outside The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts. “So many people have lost work. You have value regardless of your work. Everything has value. I do hope it makes people think about where their true value comes from,” Stolz said of the sign. The project came in response to the coronavirus, and the initial call for artists went out in May. The idea was to give people a lift with some encouraging messages. “It was a diverse group of artists that submitted their work, which we were excited by. Even a 12-year-old, which was really great,” said Erin Williams, Worcester’s Cultural Development Officer. The sign designs were diverse as well, she said. Some were funny, as in “No Bad Day No Way,” while some were very artistic. “There were some strong statements. Some are in multiple languages,” Williams said. Che Anderson, the city’s deputy director of cultural development, said 19 artists were chosen out of nearly 50 who submitted proposals. Artists sometimes had more than one design. The same sign may appear in different parts of the city. Artists represented in “Give Me A Sign” are: Stolz, Susan Champeny, Therrious Davis, Shaka Dendy, Alex Ferror, Ryan Flynn, Hal Goucher, Free Humanity, Eric Karbelling, Kevin La, Justin LeClair, Marybeth Lensel, Christopher Michelotti, Jason Naylor, Dave “Croc” O’Connor, Nina Palomba, Ego Proof, Khizra Syeda and
