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Downtown PKB Inc. (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public art installations
└ Public art installations
Downtown PKP wanted to build on its efforts to bring public art to Parkersburg. Over the years, the nonprofit created selfie stations and displayed welcome banners in the central business district. This project added a 40-foot mural. Downtown PKB held community listening sessions, where they asked residents what they love most about their town, as well as about their hopes for the future. Using the responses, a team of artists developed a design depicting a collage of smiling faces, local landmarks and butterflies. During four public paint parties, 300 volunteers worked to install the mural on the side of the Parkersburg Art Center. Project organizers say the collaborative effort culminated in public art that beautified Parkersburg's downtown.
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See More Projects Like This One
Dodge City, KS
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: This project created murals in the downtown district reflecting the area's history and diversity.
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.
Ville Platte, LA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public art installations
Description: The Tee Cotton Bowl is an annual high school football game -- and week-long event -- that promotes racial reconciliation. As part of local revitalization efforts, the Acosta Foundation engaged a team of multigenerational volunteers to create a 100-foot-long mural as a symbol of the community coming together. A small, landscaped seating area allows visitors to enjoy the artwork, with LED lighting illuminating the mural. Volunteers hailed from all parts of the city and worked on all elements of the project, from cleaning the wall to hosting a celebratory party during the Bowl. The project's success sparked creation of another mural on the grounds of Ville Platt's city hall.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Amesville, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: Since Amesville earned its designation as a Bee City USA, the village has worked to sustain pollinators. To provide pollinating birds and insects with a habitat rich in native plants and free from insecticides, the Village created a pollinator garden. The effort activated an underused meadow in Gifford Park. Volunteers used a natural herbicide to clear out unwanted grass, then spread compost and seeded the half-acre site with wildflowers. They also constructed birdboxes and installed seating and signage. Since completing the project, the Village has hosted mini-festivals onsite, which feature walking tours of the garden.
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