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Malvern, IA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: The community of Malvern is an art hub for the region, but several spaces in the town were underutilized and aesthetically unappealing for residents and visitors. Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development improved two public corridors, allowing people to gather there. The Wabash Trace Corridor now boasts upcycled metal art panels. Additionally, artists and volunteers transformed an underutilized alley on the east side of Main Street into Malvern's Art Alley. The Art Alley -- which connects Malvern's downtown -- features murals on fences, garage doors and the backs of buildings. An interactive map includes a QR code, which links to a website showing the locations of each piece of public art.
Beaver Dam, KY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: As part of a wider efforts to revitalize Beaver Dam's downtown, this project created public art out of old wooden doors. Each artwork pays tribute to the city's history and culture. Volunteers mounted the colorful doors on buildings throughout the central business district.
Houston, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: To increase walkability and create a safe, beautiful gathering space, Avenue CDC engaged a local artist, local schoolchildren and residents to create a 600-foot mural. The wall selected for the artwork was off-putting and had been vandalized many times. But the site also acted as the entry point to the Northline neighborhood, since the wall faces the nearby light rail station. The mural's design pays homage to local Latino culture and the history of the neighborhood. As the mural reached its completion, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and project organizers were able to repurpose leftover grant funds to help with recovery and rebuilding.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Camden, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: A vacant lot on North Camden's waterfront was unappealing and attracted illegal dumping. The Camden Community Partnership decided to give the lot new life by turning it into a gathering space for residents of all ages. As part of larger efforts to activate the space, the Partnership commissioned a local artist to create a mural onsite. The artist asked older adults questions about their community and used their responses to inform the mural's design, which volunteers helped paint onto a nearby building. Since its completion, project organizers say the mural has served as a model for other local public art projects, with three additional murals in the works. The new greenspace has also tied into other community building work, including development of trail along the Delaware and Cooper Rivers.
Camden, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: To help people reach Cramer Waterfront Park on foot or by bicycle, this demonstration project tested several street safety improvements. Organizers added crosswalks and temporary curb ramps to a nearby intersection. They also swapped bike and parking lanes in an effort to separate cyclists from vehicle traffic. The Camden Community Partnership collected data to evaluate the traffic calming interventions, which they will use to inform permanent infrastructure upgrades.
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