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City of Lakewood (2020) Print
2020 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public art installations
└ Public art installations
The City of Lakewood turned to public art to reduce social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as encourage residents to walk and bike. The City asked artists and entertainers to plan outdoor activities for children and residents of a senior living compound. Artists created an interactive fence art installation, as well as murals on the pavement along the ArtLine, a walking and biking route in Lakewood's arts district. Additionally, performers meandered along the Artline and interacted with community members during the Project Joy Bomb, a four-hour immersive art experience. More than 400 people lined the streets to engage and hundreds of others watched from vehicles or balconies and porches. The City also installed a Little Free Library along the route, which remains today, along with many of the art installations. In recent years, the ArtLine has continued to add works of art, including new murals.
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Minot, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: To increase vibrancy and walkability in Minot's downtown, the city's Downtown Business and Professional Association sponsored three new downtown wall murals, each created by different local artists. To encourage passersby to interact with the murals, the artists hid depictions of objects in each mural's imagery, challenging onlookers to search for elements that seem out of place in the painting's subject matter. The association worked with local businesses to acquire materials, such as paint, brushes and cleaning supplies, for the project. Each mural adorns the wall of a different local business. Over the years, Minot has become known in recent years for its assortment of colorful, creative street art -- an online tourist guide helps visitors find murals throughout town.
Lafayette, IN
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: The city will collect older adults' stories and use them as inspiration for public art. The placemaking project aims to combat blight in the Lincoln neighborhood by creating vibrant outdoor spaces.
Blacksburg, VA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: To beautify a busy corridor in Blacksburg, the project installed a mural paying tribute to the area's natural environment and history. Volunteers worked to install the artwork -- which depicts a flurry of butterflies -- along a busy pedestrian streetscape.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Lakewood, CO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: To make a popular pathway more visually appealing, volunteers painted pavement murals along the corridor from Eaton Senior Communities to the Belmar downtown district. To make high-traffic pedestrian trail more welcoming people of all ages and abilities, volunteers also installed an ADA-compliant benches at several locations, including near a low-income apartment complex.This gives people traveling the pathway a place to rest.
Denver, CO
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Public space improvements to support recovery after extreme weather events
Description: This project will develop an emergency disaster plan for the Loretto Heights Resilience Hub in Southwest Denver. This plan will ensure the hub is a safe, well-resourced place for residents, especially older adults, during disasters.
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