Colby College and the Redevelopment of Downtown Waterville
In 2018, Colby College opened the Bill and Joan Alfond Commons, a dormitory on Main Street of downtown Waterville. The goals of the college, as laid out by the \”Waterville Partnership\” webpage, are to \”leverage existing strengths, attract more visitors and residents, increase economic activity, create a sense of place, [and] organize around a plan\”. To many, this development is symbolic of a larger trend of encroachment and domination by the overlords of Colby. The threat of \”Colbyville\” is real to many residents of the Waterville community. The imposition of the building, and the bright Colby branding that illuminates Main Street, highlights these perceptions.
Negative Responses to Colby\'s Influence
Student artist covers Colby signs on Commons with anti-development art.
WHY
It is clear that residents of the building are relatively unsupportive of the branding associated with their home. It is clear that members of the broader Waterville community are wary of the aggressive association of development with the institution of Colby College. A symbolic disapproval of this branding will remove a highlight of the self-importance of the institution, and criticize the process of development.
WHAT
This project will work against any concept of institutional approval by refusing to obtain it, refusing to work within a system of neoliberal development that prioritizes profit over people.
WHEN
A student artist will create the first piece to cover the signs- which will occur at some unspecified time in the near future, during the evening, by accessing the roof of the building and installing the piece.
I hope that the response of local artists, and even artistic institutions such as Waterville Creates, is a motivation to up the ante and continue to produce pieces that invite conversation around the production of space that is happening within the community.