The Arts Council of Princeton completed its Bee Banner, which hangs on the construction fence at the site of the former Princeton Hospital on Witherspoon Street and Franklin Avenue.
The banner artwork was conceived and directed by ACP artistic director Maria Evans and created by students from two of ACP’s ArtReach programs: Creative Fridays with Princeton Young Achievers and the art classes at Princeton Nursery School. These long-running programs are taught by ACP art instructors Libby Ramage, Susan Hoenig and Ruthann Perry.
AvalonBay, the developer of the former Princeton Hospital site, approached ACP after the Planning Board approved their construction project to provide artwork for the surrounding fence in order to beautify the neighborhood. The students and instructors began their work instantaneously.
The Bee Banner depicts whimsical blue honey bees at work constructing and deconstructing hives and gathering nectar from flowers.
After spending time with ACP instructors discussing and looking at bees, each student created his or her own bee and flowers to decorate a banner that covers the expanse of the former hospital site fence. The more than 1,000-foot long banner begins on Witherspoon Street and turns the corner to continue up Franklin Avenue.
ACP, founded in 1967, is a non-profit organization with a mission of building community through the arts. Housed in the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, ACP fulfills its mission by presenting a wide range of programs including exhibitions, performances, free community cultural events, and studio-based classes and workshops in a wide range of media.
More information is online at artscouncilofprinceton.org.
