VAN BUREN, Maine – When Scott Schmidt, a professor at Drexel, Georgetown and Clemson universities, was looking up rural design on Google, he never could have guessed that it would lead to several successful collaborations between his students and the town of Van Buren. Now, Schmidt is starting to work with other Aroostook communities.
Van Buren in 2023 was selected as one of 17 towns in the United States to receive a Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design grant, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. This led to Schmidt discovering Van Buren, getting in touch with town manager Luke Dyer, and working with the community on several projects.
The town’s first collaboration involved the creation of about a dozen art pieces that will sit on granite posts along the town’s historical pathway. The pieces will be cast in bronze and depict important landmarks related to the town’s history. If the town had tried to pursue this project on its own, Dyer said it would have cost around $60,000.
The town then worked with students at Clemson University on a brochure that will promote the town and attract businesses to the community. The brochure in particular highlights how the Van Buren Light and Power District provides residents and businesses with electricity at a rate significantly lower than the state average.
Now, Van Buren is wrapping up a rebranding project with Georgetown University graduate student Graysen Viar, who also works as the university’s digital media associate. This project will create a new logo for the town that will be used in its message and social media.
Dyer said that Viar is responsible for Georgetown’s social media branding as well.
“We knew that they were going to come in strong with something from a professional,” Dyer said, “and that the end product presented to us was going to be something valuable. It’s more than just a logo.”
Dyer said that he and town officials hosted multiple meetings with the community to discuss each detail of the logo that will be used in the town’s rebrand. Even the process of selecting a color palette took over an hour.
“It’s not just, is it appealing to your color appetite, but does it create some memory for you,” Dyer said. “Does it create a memory for you? What is that memory, and why is that memory important?”
The town settled on a design that highlights the town’s iconic landmarks, and heavily incorporates the Gayety Theater. Built in 1920, the theater is over a century old and two brothers, Jason and Dayton Grandmaison, have been working to restore the building since 2019.
Dyer is planning to show the final design to the Town Council during its next meeting on May 7.
Schmidt said that a similar project is wrapping up in St. Agatha, in which another student is working with the town on a rebranding project. Schmidt is also speaking with Mapleton town officials about collaborating on a project there as well.
He said the Mapleton Lions Club, through the town, was going to create a baseball field, but the space ended up being too small. And through this collaboration, students will determine and help design an alternative use for the location.
“That’s a ripe opportunity for a student to come in and do the design and research, and find out from the town what it is they would want to do with the area,” Schmidt said, “and then offer alternatives to the town.”
And while Schmidt and his students are branching out to other Aroostook communities, it’s not the end of his collaboration with Van Buren.
“I think there’s always something cooking in Van Buren,” Schmidt said. “So I think there will certainly be more stuff in Van Buren.”
Schmidt said he looks forward to more projects throughout Aroostook County in the future.
“The connection between all the towns, I’m learning, is more of a pride for The County itself as a whole,” he said. “So we’ll continue to see more projects in northern Maine in this capacity for sure.”
