Longtime art professor designs signage for Mansfield Artwalk

A longtime faculty member at Eastern Connecticut State University has spearheaded a public art initiative that encapsulates Mansfield’s natural beauty and community identity. Art Professor Emerita and Lecturer June Bisantz has created a new installation within the Mansfield Artwalk, titled “Grow,” that utilizes Mansfield’s environment to provide the public with a walking art experience.

“The (Mansfield) Artwalk will be a beacon of culture, history, and the spirited community of Mansfield,” said Bisantz. “In the case of ‘Grow,’ the mission is to show examples of the beautiful nature that surrounds us and makes Mansfield a wonderful place to live, along with words that provide emotional and environmental context.” 

Bisantz credited Mansfield’s Downtown Partnership and its collaboration with RiseUP for Arts, a public art program, for supporting the project. The artwalk spans Route 89, from the Nipmuck Trailhead at Southeast Park to the Mansfield Public Library. Bisantz designed a series of 15 double-sided signs mounted on historic signposts, with images of historic flora and fauna, including the bald eagle, the Christmas fern, and the Eastern tiger swallowtail. 

“The posts contain silhouettes of local wildlife and aspirational words,” said Bisantz. “The signs lead visitors from the Nipmuck Trailhead at Southeast Park to the Mansfield Public Library on Warrenville Road. This installation defines the artwalk and celebrates Mansfield’s burgeoning growth and beautiful natural setting.” 

According to Bisantz, much of the iconography was symbolic of the town of Mansfield’s mission of community growth and prosperity. She added that the inspiration for this project came not only from the town’s environment and history but also past art projects that utilized signage and commonplace infrastructure to reach the widest possible audience. 

“My work is grounded in a desire to integrate -- not merely place -- art in public space,” she said. “Based on this belief, my past work includes billboards, re-contextualized street signs, altered traffic control devices, advertising panels, and video projections.”