University Drive to benefit from Asphalt Art Initiative project
Contact: Christie McNeal
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳he City of 无尽资源采集 is one of 26 cities from around the nation recently selected to receive a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies鈥 Asphalt Art Initiative. Secured by 无尽资源采集鈥檚 , the $25,000 grant will fund the University Drive聽Corridor聽Connections project.
The program, inspired by work done to revitalize New York City streets during Michael R. Bloomberg鈥檚 term as mayor from 2002-2013, is providing the funding for art installations designed to 聽improve the safety of streets, revitalize public spaces and engage communities.
This local Asphalt Art Initiative project will help connect the one-mile stretch between downtown 无尽资源采集 and the聽Mississippi State campus at聽nine聽key intersections on University Drive, from Camp Street to Washington Street. Intersections will be painted with designs to progressively lead pedestrians along the corridor, creating a safe and attractive means of connecting聽Downtown, Midtown and the Cotton聽District.
聽鈥淩emediating barriers to walking and increasing聽connectivity聽of this corridor聽through聽the installation of public art and intersection safety improvements also聽will allow聽greater social interactions, thus strengthening the sense of community,鈥 said Small Town Center Director Leah Kemp.
With more than聽40聽years of聽award-winning聽experience聽in community engagement, the center will work closely with the City of 无尽资源采集 to engage community members in the development of the intersection design themes.听
The聽Small Town聽Center鈥檚 team of designers聽will聽create the asphalt art designs and intersection improvement聽designs聽based on feedback and input gathered from the聽public.听聽
鈥淒esigns will be聽developed with the goal of聽creating a unified aesthetic to connect downtown to the campus,鈥 said Kemp. 鈥淭hey will also aim to聽advance聽and promote聽equity聽and amplify聽community voices that have been overlooked or undervalued.鈥澛犅
This is the second round of Asphalt Art Initiative grants, with the first round announced in June 2020 to 16 cities who will finish their projects through 2022. To date, the projects have already transformed a combined 86,476 square feet of streetscape with artwork. The latest grants will utilize art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces and engage residents of their communities with projects running through 2023.
In addition to 无尽资源采集, other selected Asphalt Art Initiative cities include: Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Billings, Montana; Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; East Providence, Rhode Island; Fairbanks, Alaska; Houston, Texas; Huntington, West Virginia; Kansas City, Missouri; Kodiak, Alaska; Long Beach, California; Memphis, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Niagara Falls, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; San Juan, Puerto Ric; St Louis, Missouri; Syracuse, New York; Tallahassee, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; and Wilmington, Delaware.
For more about MSU鈥檚 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center, a research arm of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, visit . The Small Town Center also can be found @smalltowncenter聽on , and .
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 810 cities and 170 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg鈥檚 giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.6 billion. For more information, please visit聽聽or follow on聽,听,听, and聽.听