RVA'S FIRST         
     PUBLIC ART PARK!    

Here's the plan: create a public arts park designed to be a cultural landmark that is free & open to the public & any artist who is here or visits Richmond. We believe this is at minimum 35 years overdue. Richmond constantly sells itself as an Arts City — it's time for them to put their money where their mouth is.

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This ties in perfectly with Richmond’s Public Arts Master Plan & can set forth a new, broader Richmond that — we believe — will become a defining city of the East Coast. When people think of the Arts in the United States, they will come to think of Richmond.

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A park with free, interactive walls that can be a place where a father takes his son on the weekend to paint something together. A girl scout group can make a design together & paint in order to earn a badge. A space where teens & young adults can hang out without getting into any trouble. A place where traveling international artists can spend a weekend. This will create an outdoor 3rd Place where all are welcome & the Art is constantly shifting & growing. A training ground for future muralists. A tourism & cultural destination.

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City after city, where a Public Arts Park has been constructed, time after time —the locales have seen a reduction in crime, vandalism, destruction of local businesses & homes, while also creating a funnel for new artists to emerge, careers to be made, & a public image that welcomes new blood & talent to come to the city.

 

According to Mural Arts Philadelphia's country wide study (muralarts.org), Richmond is #4 in the nation for Public Arts & other cities such as New York, California, Oregon, etc. recognize this. I ask this respectfully – why can’t we recognize this? This represents a categorical failure to capitalize. Artists don’t see Richmond as a place to prosper, but more so as a stepping stone. An exodus of talent for decades has been occurring & it’s time to create a destination.

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​We are proposing a Public Arts Park (to be officially named by the public) to be installed underneath the The Manchester Bridge, southside of the river & adjacent to the Flood Wall. Working alongside the architect Katie Cortez for over a year & four months now we have proposed this project to every single relevant department in the entire city.