In the heart of Pittsboro, North Carolina, Chatham Park is a developing community that gives everyone space for daily life, both work and play.  All 7,068 acres are providing new avenues for its residents to flourish including new businesses, new schools, new jobs, new homes, and a new spotlight on the local art scene.  As Chatham Park grows, local artists are given a larger opportunity to share their work with the surrounding region. 

Art is an integral part of the Chatham Park community. Most local parks and recreation areas install typical trashcans, water tanks, and benches, into their landscape, diminishing the natural beauty of the location. Chatham Park plans to transform elements of everyday life into art pieces in order to create aesthetically pleasing and useable spaces for its community. Distinctive installations of art will be used to define the boundaries and many entrances to Chatham Park and its neighborhoods. Other infrastructure elements such as roadways, bridges, stair towers, and community building entrances are designed to become iconic symbols within the Pittsboro art community.  Street furnishings like bike racks and signage will also be taken advantage of to give locals a taste of Pittsboro artists’ unique work.

The process of choosing whose art will be showcased in Chatham Park can be complex. Each site plan submitted for consideration to the developers of Chatham Park must include a “public art statement” that describes how the art will be used in the development of the site.  Art placement, architectural enhancements, and site design elements are three of the areas considered when looking at possible contenders. 

“It’s a matter of embracing the artisan community that’s already here and doing our best to give them another platform,” said Debbie Andelton of the Chatham Park team.

Chatham Park’s development is hinged on its five pillars: Innovation, Connectivity, Quality Design, Healthy Balance, and Stewardship. As Chatham Park continues to develop its community, Stewardship and Quality Design have become major driving forces in their display and support of local art.

“We balance the serene beauty of our natural landscape with open community spaces featuring inspiring manmade art and architecture,” said the Chatham Park design team with regards to the pillar of Stewardship.  

Chatham Park will showcase local Pittsboro artists’ pieces in galleries and featured displays such as sculptures, lobby presentations, and streetscapes.