CATONSVILLE, Md. — Catonsville neighbors have been speculating online about a series of tarped signs that appeared near significant locations around town, including along Frederick Road.
The mystery is over: the signs are part of a public art project called "Signs of People." The 10 signs, each standing 12 feet tall, feature the silhouettes of real Catonsville residents. The Baltimore County Arts Guild is presenting the project.
Phyllis King is one of those residents. Her sign stands on Winters Lane, in front of Grace AME Church, where she grew up. King, a community activist and eduactor, is a wealth of knowledge on Winters Lane and its historic African American community, and a plaque beneath her silhouette tells passersby about it.
"I was part of the desegregation of Catonsville, so I'm one of the- not the first African Americans to go to Catonsville Middle School- but I'm one of the people who grew up out here, getting along with the different cultures, different people," King told WMAR-2 News.
"It's just nice to be able to explain to everybody, not just African Americans, but everybody, so they'll know just what has happened in this area," King added.
Artists Eva Salmeron and Ciro Marquez, who are siblings, were commissioned as part of a national competition. Residents themselves were chosen from a pool of 43 candidates. Salmeron conducted the interviews and Marquez designed the signs.
Just as each location holds significance, so does each person featured on the signs.
"That design would become, at the same time, a road sign, so it would fulfill the wayfinding aspect of of the project, but at the same time bring the community in. And not only because their silhouette is there ,but because their own voice their own stories, their own quotes are in the sign." Marquez said.
Monica Herber, executive director of the Baltimore County Arts Guild, told WMAR-2 News sharing the knowledge beneath each sign will be powerful.
"I think Catonsville is already passionate about its history, but what it does is allow other people that come and visit to really connect on a deeper level with the people that are actually on the signs and telling the story," Herber said.
The tarps are scheduled to come down Saturday, when the signs will be a permanent fixture in the town.
The signs will point to:
- Remus Adams Blacksmith Shop
- Old Catonsville High School
- Albert Smith House
- Heidelbach Grocer and Butcher (The Fishmonger's Daughter)
- Fire Station (Frederick Road)
- Catonsville Health Center
- Greenwood Electric Park
- Winters Lane neighborhood
- Salem Lutheran Evangelical Church
- Catonsville Post Office
