(bright music) ♪ Good, good, good, good, good, good ♪ ♪ Good, good neighbor club ♪ (upbeat music) - Good day, good neighbor.

Good ducks?

- Research.

- For?

- The contest!

- Hmm.

Public art contest.

Friends of Parkview Ave, we want you to design a new piece of public art for the entrance to the park.

Any neighbor can submit an entry.

Entries due Friday.

- Hence, the ducks.

- Hmm.

And no piece of art for the park, huh?

- Precisely.

There's a large open space right at the entrance where the statue of a man on a horse used to be.

- And they want to put something new there?

- Anyone can submit an idea of what that new thing should be.

- And you're submitting ducks?

(duck quacking) (crowd laughing) - Wait and see, Freddie.

Wait and see.

You should submit something too.

- An idea for a whole monument?

- Or a sculpture.

- That's big, literally.

- Public art does tend to be larger in size.

- And if it's by the entrance, that means lots of neighbors will see.

- When in doubt, good neighbor guide it out!

- Good neighbor guide it out!

The ultimate neighborhood scrapbook never fails me.

(bright guitar music) - Good day, good neighbor.

I'm Aubrey Penny, and I'm a curator of public art.

That means that I help cities and museums and all sorts of people figure out what art they should put outside that you can experience every day.

Public art is art that doesn't live in a house or in a museum.

Instead, it lives where lots of people can experience it on a day-to-day basis.

So that might include something like a mural or a sculpture or a mosaic, something that you can maybe get up close to and explore yourself.

When you're looking to create public art that fits in your community, it's really important to take a look around and see what's already there.

What stories are already being told, and what did the people who put them there want you to think about them?

And then in return, what stories are missing?

Do you feel like your stories are there?

That's the best way to approach it is to think about how you can put your story in public art.

Does public art always have to be big?

Absolutely not.

Public art can be all kinds of sizes and in all kinds of forums.

You can also put a tiny public art, takes the space of a single brick, or you could do something really small with your friends in your neighborhood.

It doesn't have to be big to be public art.

Does public art need to last forever?

No, it absolutely does not.

But that also offers a lot of really great opportunities.

You can make something that'll just last for a day or an afternoon and it can still be public art.

You can grab your chalk or work with your friends, do a dance outside, and think about creating public art that your community can enjoy today.

It doesn't necessarily mean it'll last forever, but it does mean that right now can be a really special moment.

Creating public art is a great way to get involved with your community.

I hope this helps.

Bye!

(upbeat music) - Let's think about the other public art around town as inspiration for the contest.

I know there's a statue of the first ever astronaut from our state, right around here.

- He was born in this neighborhood.

Maybe that's a monument that shows people are proud of him.

- Hmm.

He's got one hand on his hip, and the other hand pointing out.

Very confident.

- And his feet aren't totally flat on the ground.

I'd like to think he's in the middle of walking somewhere, still on an adventure.

(crowd laughing) - If I was a statue, I'd want my arms out like this, like I'm welcoming a whole new group of neighbors.

- I want my statue to be sitting, curled up reading.

And then I'd want benches around me so other people could sit next to the statue and read too.

- I would love to read next to the Phoebe statue.

- My favorite public art is the one by the river.

It's a bunch of mirror balls.

They're big so you can walk around them.

And on a sunny day, they reflect the blue sky.

- Whoa!

- Looking at the mirror balls makes me feel happy and relaxed.

- I want people to feel excited when they look at my art.

- I'd like my public art to make people think.

- Is that where the ducks come in?

- Precisely.

- Ooh, thoughtful ducks.

I like it.

- Onto phase two.

- Neighbor net, let's see the cool public art where you live.

- [Computer] Hello, neighbor.

(relaxed guitar music) - When you think of public art, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Maybe you think of murals or sculptures.

Here in Lansing, Michigan, we put a spin on the concept.

At All of the Above Hip-Hop Academy, kids and adults of all ages get the chance to take free hip-hop classes.

- There's a lot of things you can do, DJing, breaking, making beats.

There's rapping classes and, like, you can have a lot of opportunities with it.

(relaxed guitar music) - The rapping aspect of all of the above has allowed him to be more confident.

He's able to be around people who are like-minded, who also enjoy those things.

It's just a really great energy.

- [Kamiti] All of the Above also has events, like the Cap City Breaking Jam, which is a break dancing competition here in downtown Lansing, where people can come out and see youth break dancing.

They also offer a free after school program, called The Cookup, where high schoolers can choose between beat making, DJ'ing, or hip-hop dance classes.

- [Ozay] I would explain it as a cultural hub that has opportunities for young people to explore a variety of hip-hop art forms.

It's bigger than hip-hop.

It's bigger than writing rhymes and beats and stuff.

This is, like, you know, trying to support people, you know?

- [Kamiti] Now that you know that public art can be more than just murals and sculptures, what do you think about it?

How could public art benefit your neighbors?

- [Instructor] Here we go.

- One, two, three.

- [Instructor] Break!

- Break!

- [Instructor] Great.

(crowd cheering) - You ready to share, Phoebe?

- You go first.

- My piece is called Group Hug.

It looked kind of like a person going in for a hug, but I didn't want it to be one specific person, so I left the face blank.

I think it should be made of reflective medal so it looks kind of like a mirror.

- Just like the mirror balls.

- That's where I got my inspiration from!

And it has an outdoor bench.

- So people can sit and read!

- Since it's at the entrance of the park, people are probably waiting for a friend, eating a snack, or people watching, and this is the perfect place to do it.

- A stroke of genius, Freddie.

- Public art that feels like your friend.

Okay, Phoebe, your turn.

- I think I finally got it.

- Whoa, Uncle Morse.

- Sir, what happened?

(crowd laughing) - You like it?

It's my idea for the new public art contest.

I call it Fairy Party.

- And you're gonna wear that?

Like a costume?

- Wouldn't you get tired of standing at the entrance all day, every day?

- No, no.

This is just a mock-up.

Imagine a mossy hill covered in biodegradable streamers, dyed with different plants native to the area.

It's a windy day.

The streamers, blowing in the breeze.

It's a snowy day.

The colors poke out through a blanket of white.

- About that.

- Wouldn't it get messed up in the rain?

- That's part of the piece.

It changes with the weather.

Letting the natural elements shape it.

It's a poem, a statement about the way we all change.

It is Fairy Party.

- You have the spirit of a true artist, Uncle Morse.

- I like the dyes that come from my neighborhood.

It was a nice touch.

- Why, thank you, ladies.

- Your turn, Phoebe!

- My art is called Keep Floating.

(duck quacking) (crowd laughing) - The duck!

- It's not just any duck.

It's a rubber ducky duck.

(duck quacking) - Classic.

- I chose this type of duck because I want people to feel happy when they see it, but also because my favorite annual event, the Rubber Duck Race, happens in this park every year.

- I love the Rubber Ducky Race.

It is so fun to decorate your favorite duck and cheer it on as it cruises down the creek.

(crowd laughing) - It's a day of community togetherness and I think that's worth celebrating.

The duck is also a memory of Kai Rixby, the founder of the Duck Race.

Kai was a very good neighbor, always trying to bring people together.

- Well then, why don't we just make a statue of Kai?

- Because Kai would never have wanted a statue of just herself.

Kai will want something that makes people smile.

- I love this one, Phoebe.

- Community togetherness.

Ducks really brings a tear to my eye.

- These are three great ideas.

I cannot wait to see what our other neighbors came up with.

- Should we turn in our entries?

- Definitely.

Let's go!

- Once they pick a winner, I wonder how long it'll take to put up the monument.

And who gets to choose the winner anyway?

I wonder what other stories there are about other monuments in our town.

Has anyone written them down?

Guys, wait up!

(crowd applauding) (steady music) - [[Narrator] Lead support for this program has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with additional support from the William Penn Foundation, and views like you!

(bright music)