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ArtPop Gives Charlotte Artists A Chance To Dream Big

Bree Stallings

This week, it’s time to get out and vote. No, not for the next mayor or president…but for public art that could brighten your commute. 

Twenty artists have been given the opportunity to display their work from great heights.

ArtPop is a program that gives available billboard space to local artists through a partnership with the Artsand Science Council and Adams Outdoor Advertising. So far 15 artists have been selected through a juried process. Now the public gets to decide the final 5 artists.

BreeStallings is a Charlotte artist. Her work was selected last year and is currently on a billboard that can be seen from Billy Graham Parkway. 

"It’s been really amazing having random people come to my studio saying they know my work or know my name," said Stallings. 

Her advice to artists relying on the public for their votes is to use social media to promote their work. And her advice to the public is to vote if they see something that moves them.

"It might be something that you'll see on the road every day to and from work for the rest of the year. You can make a difference by submitting your vote," Stallings said. 

You can submit your vote online atwww.charlottecultureguide.com. Public voting is closed end of day on November 29. Selected artists will be revealed the next day.

And in case you’re wondering what happens to those billboards from last year, artists like Bree Stallings will get to keep theirs once they are replaced with this year’s winners in January 2016…although she’s not quite sure what she’ll do with her large vinyl billboard just yet.

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.