Past the conveyer belt counters and checkout lines at Common Ground Food Cooperative is a cooking classroom decorated with a vegetable print rug, a rainbow of mismatched chairs and an empty glass case covered with blue plastic hanging on the wall.
By May 23, the plastic will come down and the glass case will be transformed into a gallery to showcase local artwork. The project is funded in part by a $5,000 Urbana Arts Grant, given by the city in collaboration with the Urbana Business Association, which provided $1,000 of the grant.
Out of 57 applications, the city of Urbana distributed a total of $49,500 to Common Ground and 22 other artistic individuals and organizations..
Christina McClelland, Urbana public arts coordinator, said the money for the grant comes from the Tax Increment Funds in Urbana districts one and two and contributes to the economic development of the city by adding to the quality of life in Urbana.
“Because they will be having all these classes, (the deciding jury) saw it as a way for the arts to have a wide impact on people who may not go out looking for an art exhibit,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for people to see artwork in a unique context.”
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Many customers use the classroom to attend classes on healthy and affordable eating, or to eat food from the cafe inside the store.
Angie Wolske, a Champaign resident, frequents the classroom to check emails during the day between appointments.
“The art makes me feel good,” she said. “Before, there were prairie scenes covering the whole wall sketched in pencil, and they were really cool to look at.”
Wolske is one of more than 4,700 community members to share equity in the food cooperative and receive discounted prices on classes and food items.
“I feel like I’ve made a relationship with the people here,” she said. “They care about the products, and I want to support them with the classes they provide.”
Although the grant only covers a little less than half of the total cost to implement the project, Maya Bauer, education coordinator of Common Ground, said the organization couldn’t have afforded the project without help from the city.
“Our owners have indicated that art and the community is really important to them,” she said. “Some of our goals include being the center of a vibrant new community. For us, public art viewership is really important to that.”
Corinne can be reached at [email protected].
