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.

Henderson, NC

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: The Flint Hill Kittrell Vance Community Development Corporation hoped to help foster economic development in Henderson's Flint Hill neighborhood, a low-income community. To create a sense of place there, the CDC created the Henderson Art Walk. First, volunteers worked to install murals and crosswalk art reflecting the area's history and culture. Local youth also took part in an oral history project, recording stories from their elders. A local website hosts an archive of the stories, along with photos of local public art installations. Then the CDC launched its walking tour, which highlights local Black history and culture. The walk leads visitors past local galleries and museums, as well as murals and crosswalk art. One mural honors Ben E. King, a Henderson native best known for writing and performing the song Stand by Me. The success of this placemaking project has inspired similar efforts in nearby communities and has spurred the CDC to create more public art.

Austin, TX

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025

Project Category: Public art installations

Description: Along one stretch of an urban trail, users encountered a space that offered little reason to stop, reflect or connect with the area's past. BikeTexas addressed this by installing a large, multi-panel mural that depicts the neighborhood's early railroad history and the people who shaped it. Community members, including older adults, helped review the design, and professional artists completed the work as a highly visible landmark along the trail. The mural turned an overlooked segment into a place where older adults can pause, walk more comfortably and engage with local history rather than simply pass through. It also added a shared point of interest that encouraged conversation and repeat visits. One trail user said the artwork brightened her regular walks and changed how the space felt, reinforcing the mural's role as a welcoming destination along the trail.

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