Middlebury, VT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: To make Middlebury's downtown more vibrant, Find Your Wings launched a public art initiative to increase community engagement. The organization engaged local artists who worked with residents to create eight sets of wings. To include as many community members as possible, they distributed art kits to homebound residents, schools and senior living facilities, who sent their creations back to the artists. Each set of wings is unique -- one consists of painted plywood feathers, another parrots a monarch butterfly's wings, while a third turns random household objects into musical instruments for passersby to strike. Installed throughout downtown, the installations invite pedestrians to pose and snap selfies. Project organizers say the placemaking effort is meant to foster a sense of belonging and boost the local economy.

Westport, NY

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Pedestrian Safety

Description: The Slow with the Flow and Walkable Westport campaigns will enhance pedestrian safety. Public art, greenscaping, and crosswalk painting will slow traffic and improve walkability.