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<p>Driving through the Lehigh Valley on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, there is more than the onset of fall foliage contributing to the beautification of that stretch of highway. There are billboards, vast rectangles of space usually reserved for advertising, that are now showcasing the intriguing and aesthetically pleasing work of Lehigh Valley artists, and the program that makes the displays possible is coming to a section of the Poconos that includes parts of the Wyoming Valley.</p><p>A decade after the earliest version of the ArtPop program was established in the Stroudsburg area, it is returning to the Poconos. Artists from Monroe, Pike, Wayne, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties were invited to submit their work for consideration, and chosen pieces will be featured on unused billboards throughout the region.</p><p>Wendy Hickey, an 18 year veteran in advertising, conceived of the program while living and working in the Poconos. As an employee of Adams Outdoor advertising and a board member of the Pocono Arts Council, Hickey said she realized that empty billboard ad space could be a venue for artists.</p><p>&#8220;I was thinking as my responsibility to the arts organization, &#8216;How could I help the local artists in the community?&#8217; And I&#8217;m very aware of what I do for a living and know from time to time there&#8217;s available billboards.&#8221;</p><p>Hickey presented her idea to a manager and a small version of the program was initiated. After moving to Michigan and North Carolina and seeing the program grow in such large markets as Peoria, Illinois and Charlotte, North Carolina, she has returned it to its place of origin.</p><p>&#8220;Because of it being my start, there&#8217;s part of my heart in that market,&#8221; Hickey said. &#8220;It makes perfect sense. It&#8217;s time to get back there. The program&#8217;s been growing , so why not take it back to where it was born?&#8221;</p><p>In the last four years, Hickey has branded ArtPop as a non-profit organization, developed a logo and created a mission statement, which is to promote local artists&#8217; work through available media space. ArtPop comes from combining the word art with the term public outdoor project.</p><p>Throughout 10 years of development, the program has worked with several different arts organizations, which gather prospective artists, and advertising agencies, which donate billboard space, to establish programs in different states.</p><p>Visual artists in all forms of media are encouraged to submit. Painting, photography and graphic design are among the media of works that have been selected in the past, but submission is open to all creative work that can produce visually including poetry, performance art and sculpture.</p><p>The deadline for submission has been extended to Thursday, Sept. 24. All submissions must be sent to the Pocono Arts Council at <a href="mailto:info@poconoarts.org">info@poconoarts.org</a> and submission guidelines can be requested at that address or by calling 570-476-4460. Further information on the ArtPop program is available at <a href="http://www.artpopstreetgallery.com">www.artpopstreetgallery.com</a> or by contacting Allen Lawlor of Adams Outdoor at <a href="mailto:alawlor@adamsoutdoor.com">alawlor@adamsoutdoor.com</a></p><p>Laura Gross of the Pocono Arts Council was a member when Hickey started the project. She said at the time of the project&#8217;s conception, a lot of people in the Poconos were up in arms about the ugliness of billboards, and the program was Hickey&#8217;s way of offering a solution.</p><p>&#8220;Public art is very important,&#8221; Gross said. &#8220;People just don&#8217;t understand that art is a basis of our lives. An artist has to touch everything that we do, our clothes, our homes, our business, advertising, but people don&#8217;t realize that, so it&#8217;s nice to get the art out where it&#8217;s visible.&#8221;</p><p>Christine Medley, of Dickson City, is an assistant professor of graphic art at Marywood University, and she has submitted three pieces to the Arts Council for consideration. Two are photographs and one combines letterpress printing and graphic art.</p><p>Medley said she enjoys merging her digital skills with traditional skills.</p><p>She recalls seeing an ArtPop billboard in the Lehigh Valley and thinking that it was a nice break from the visual clutter of advertising. Medley called it a good idea for making the surrounding area look better, promoting arts and giving artists another media outlet.</p><p>&#8220;To be selected would be an honor,&#8221; Medley said. &#8220;You just don&#8217;t get that opportunity to have your creative work where so many people are going to see it every day.&#8221;</p><p>Hickey, who now works for RBX media, said she hopes ArtPop will be her full-time career some day.</p><p>&#8220;People are seeing this work, getting inspired,&#8221; Hickey said. &#8220;They&#8217;re getting in touch with the artists; they&#8217;re commissioning them. (Artists are getting invites to galleries. There are so many different things happening to the artists&#8217; careers because of this, and it&#8217;s inspiring the communities at the same time.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Artwork by Jonathan Grauel was displayed in 2014 on an Adams Outdoor billboard as part of the ArtPop movement in Charlotte, North Carolina. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_ArtPop1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Artwork by Jonathan Grauel was displayed in 2014 on an Adams Outdoor billboard as part of the ArtPop movement in Charlotte, North Carolina. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Medley_sunset2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Christine Medley of Dickson City has submitted a photograph of a sunset to the ArtPop program for consideration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Medley_sunset2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Christine Medley of Dickson City has submitted a photograph of a sunset to the ArtPop program for consideration. </caption1><photoCredit1>Christine Medley | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Medley_colorgrid2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Medley combined her digital and traditional skills to make this color grid, which she submitted to ArtPop. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Medley_colorgrid2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Medley combined her digital and traditional skills to make this color grid, which she submitted to ArtPop. </caption2><photoCredit2>Christine Medley | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Regional artwork to be displayed on billboards</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>IF YOU SUBMIT:</p><p>Deadline: Thursday, Sept. 24</p><p>Send to: Submissions must be entered to Pocono Arts Council at info@poconoarts.org.</p><p>More info: For additional info or guidelines, call 570-476-4460 or email Allen Lawlor of Adams Outdoor at alawlor@adamsoutdoor.com</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or <a href="mailto:mmattei@www.timesleader.com">mmattei@www.timesleader.com</a></p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne, Lackawanna artists are among those eligible for ArtPop billboards in the Poconos