North Hero, VT

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: In a rural town where isolation is common among older adults, the library created an outdoor space to foster connection and creativity. It installed a circular word garden with etched stones and ADA-compliant benches, complemented by raised beds. A kickoff event drew residents to arrange words into poems and phrases. The garden is now a permanent feature that brings grandparents and grandchildren together. As one visitor said, "My niece didn't even want to come to the library, but after playing with the word garden, she doesn't want to leave."

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.

Lakewood, CO

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: 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.

Lancaster, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: SACA set out to create a more welcoming plaza by lifting up the migration stories of older adults whose histories were not widely known. The organization recorded ten oral stories and linked them to QR codes placed across the neighborhood, then commissioned a steel sculpture shaped like a travel trunk releasing monarch butterflies to symbolize movement and renewal. They also installed six interpretive panels and hosted a community block party. The project is expected to preserve elders' stories over time as SACA refreshes the recordings and expands its annual "Voices of Migration" art show. A neighbor's suggestion for a monarch theme helped shape the sculpture, showing how resident input guided the work. The effort also prompted further plaza improvements and sparked interest in replicating the project in other cities.

Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.