Pittsburgh, PA

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: To bring vibrancy to Pittsburgh's Beechview neighborhood, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging engaged residents in a public art project. The result was Color Beechview. With the guidance of a local artist, community members wore LED lights on bodies, which they used to create light paintings through long-exposure technology. The resulting digital art depicts the silhouettes of Beechview residents, including children and older adults. SWPPA then displayed the art throughout the neighborhood, including on the sidewalk pavement in front of the senior center, on the side of light rail cars and along neighborhood fences. Organizers say key goals of the project were combatting social isolation and creating intergenerational connections. We encouraged people who didn't know one another to reach across generations and across ethnicities to connect, Lively Pittsburgh's Ted Cmarada said.

Holdrege, NE

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: This project will transform a downtown site once occupied by a derelict building into an accessible sculpture garden. Designed to host community events, the garden will feature trees, a mural, lighting, tables and seating.

Perth Amboy, NJ

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: The City engaged a local artist to create a mural in for Perth Amboy Housing Authority's community room. The City surveyed residents, using their input to inform the artwork's subject matter.