Producing Art In Neighborhoods Together: P.A.I.N.T. Program Announces Funding for 1st Neighborhood-Based Public Art Project

Center For Neighborhoods is pleased to announce the award of $7,500 in funding for the first in a series of site-specific neighborhood-based public art projects under the umbrella of the P.A.I.N.T. Program (P.A.I.N.T. - Producing Art In Neighborhoods Together). The award is being granted to local visual artists Mary Dennis Kannapell and Marjie Ryan who collaboratively developed a project proposal for the German-Paristown neighborhood. Their project, titled “YOU ARE HERE - Linking the Past to the Present: Creating a Sense of Place” is slated to kick off this Saturday, June 26^th, at the 4^th Annual “Shotgun Fest” in the German-Paristown neighborhood.

According to artist Marjie Ryan, Phase 1 of the “You Are Here” project is focused on developing an appreciation of the “treasure of a distinct cultural and historical landscape, the German-Paristown Neighborhood”.

The artists proposed to explore the history of the neighborhood by uncovering people and places that significantly contributed to the establishment of German-Paristown. The project will culminate in the development of a “sculptural timepiece panel”, which is a site-specific art installation constructed of historic iron artifacts evoking the history, landscape, and residents of the neighborhood welded together and installed on a lot adjacent the German-Paristown Neighborhood Center. Additionally, the artists plan to paint the steps of the Neighborhood Center red and white (an historic tradition of the area), create a painted map of the neighborhood with a “You Are Here” star marking the viewer’s location in front of the building. Plans for a community-based interactive second phase of the “You Are Here” project will be revealed in the coming months.

“We are really excited about the ‘You Are Here’ project, and anxiously await the kick off event at the Shotgun Fest this Saturday,” said Hallie Jones, Director of Marketing and Development at the Center For Neighborhoods and also the P.A.I.N.T. Program Manager. “This is just the first of four super exciting neighborhood-based public art projects the P.A.I.N.T. program currently has in the planning stages. All of the projects are based on collaboration between local artists and the residents of neighborhoods. Our ultimate goal is to create culturally relevant public artwork that encourages meaningful dialogue and builds community, while simultaneously supporting the vision of both neighborhoods and the visual arts.”

Nate Pederson, who is serving as the project facilitator for the German-Paristown Neighborhood Association, said the association is “thrilled because it combines the true spirit of collective engagement with the raw passion and skill of talented artisans. It’s a way for local leaders to improve their skills, as well as a means for the retiring and shy to get involved in their community in a fun way. It turns ethereal 'neighborhood pride' into the real and palpable.”

The public can meet the artists at their Shotgun Fest booth this coming Saturday, June 26^th, from Noon – 9:00 PM. They will be meeting and greeting residents to introduce the project, getting to know the community, and collecting contact information for individuals interested in becoming involved with the project. The artists are also announcing an open call for the submission of metal objects with historical relevance to the neighborhood. The artists are seeking donations of metal objects relevant to the history of the neighborhood to be incorporated as part of the “Sculptural Timepiece Panel”.

Center For Neighborhood’s “P.A.I.N.T. Program” was established in the summer of 2009 through a grant from Louisville Metro’s External Agency Fund for Arts and Culture. Center For Neighborhoods and the German-Paristown Neighborhood Association are both 501(c)3 non-profit organizations.

Press Contact:

Hallie Jones

Director for Marketing and Development, P.A.I.N.T. Program Manager

Center For Neighborhoods

610 South 4^th Street, Suite 701

Louisville, KY 40202

halliej@centerforneighborhoods.org

502-589-0343

To learn more about the P.A.I.N.T. Program, please visit: www.centerforneighborhoods.org

To view the artists’ proposal for the “You Are Here” project, please visit:

http://www.centerforneighborhoods.org/PAINT/2010proposals/GPNA_Phase_1.pdf

The German-Paristown Neighborhood Association: