Ithaca’s Art Bike Racks

Ithaca’s Art Bike Racks

In 2017, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) and the City of Ithaca together with the Tompkins County Tourism Program and Bike Walk Tompkins launched a Community Bike Rack Design Competition with the idea of encouraging cycling as a desirable mode of transportation as well as enhancing downtown Ithaca with creative functional art, designed by and for the local community.

More than 80 different designs from local and regional artists of all ages were submitted to the contest.

The selection panel, using criteria of functionality, creativity, and representation of Ithaca’s unique culture, history, and characteristics of place chose 12 winning designs. These were then sent to Durand Van Doren, a highly skilled local blacksmith, and metal artist, for crafting into bike racks. Using the colors recommended by the design artists, the finished products were then galvanized, and fusion-coat painted for durability and additional beauty. Local bike advocates helped the City Engineering Division identify visible downtown locations near the Ithaca Commons where additional bike parking was needed.

It is hoped these Art Bike Racks will inspire other new ideas to bring more 3-dimensional art to public spaces in Ithaca, stimulating the idea of the functional object as artwork.

Led by Tom Knipe, Deputy Director for Economic Development for the City of Ithaca, this project is a a partnership of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, Tompkins County Tourism Program, the City of Ithaca and Bike Walk Tompkins, with financial support provided by an anonymous donor. A self-guided walking tour of the Bike Racks can be found on the free Pocketsights app for smartphones: You can also see a complete list of the racks at: https://ithacabikerackproject.wordpress.com/

     

Bike Racks were fabricated at Durand’s Forge, Trumansburg.