Portland, Maine (January 26, 2012) — Art All Around®, a project sponsored by the Maine Center for Creativity, has won the William Johnson Award for outstanding achievement in demonstrating aesthetic merit in industrial or commercial coatings work. The team will accept their award at the national convention in Tampa, Florida.
The award comes from the Steel Structures Painting Council, a national professional society concerned with the use of coatings to protect industrial steel structures. The structure awards program was created as an opportunity to give recognition for outstanding high-performance coating work. The awards are given to recognize the work of teams of contractors, designers, end users and coating manufacturers for excellence on particular coatings projects.
The William Johnson Award was given to the team that painted Art All Around’s Tank #28 at the Sprague Energy tank farm in South Portland, the third tank of a total of 16 that will be painted, making Art All Around the largest piece of public art in the world. This project has received recognition and praise for its use of color, gloss, texture, and coating that enhances the industrial environment, while representing a design created by a world-renowned contemporary artist, Jaime Gili.
The coatings team involved in this project are Sprague Energy, Sherwin-Williams, AMEX Industrial Coating, Jon Cavallo P.E., ENERCON and the volunteers of the Maine Center for Creativity. The project is visible by air on the approach to Portland’s International Jetport and is fast becoming a major landmark visible from numerous locations in Portland, South Portland and on the water. More than a quarter million people see it on their daily commute on I-295 and annually more than 500,000 Downeaster Amtrak passengers pass it.
Notable people who also contributed to the success of the project include Jean Maginnis, Founder and Executive Director of the Maine Center for Creativity, Gregory W. Boulos, Chair, Governance Committee, MCC and Co-Project Director, Georgia Flanagan, AMEX Industrial Coatings Supervisor and Graphic Designer, Alan Holt, Project Facilitator, Tom Dobbins, Board of Directors, MCC and Sprague Technical Project Director, Katherine Greenleaf, Board President, MCC, Phil Harriman, Chair of the AAA Capital Campaign Committee, Pamela Plumb, Nominating Chair, Lead Volunteer AAA Committee Member, and Chuck Lawton, Chair of the Development Committee, MCC. This award represents the volunteer work and years of effort put in by the entire Board of Directors and Advisory Council of the Maine Center for Creativity.
About Maine Center for Creativity
The Maine Center for Creativity (MCC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) led by a volunteer board of directors. Founded in May 2005, MCC is committed to nurturing innovative companies and people in Maine by developing projects and programs that support the growth of creative industries and the arts. Among its educational and creative projects, MCC is organizing Art All Around™, an international design competition to paint the Sprague Energy tanks in South Portland, the Creative Toolbox Series, and Pecha Kucha events in Maine. For more information, please visit www.mainecenterforcreativity.org
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