STARKVILLE — The city of Starkville is seeking community input on an arts project that aims to beautify University Drive intersections and crosswalks.
Starkville is one of only 26 cities nationwide recently awarded a Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative grant. It was secured by the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center, in collaboration with Starkville Area Arts Council. The center is a community design center in Mississippi State University’s College of Architecture, Art and Design.
The project will help connect the one-mile stretch between downtown Starkville and the Mississippi State campus at nine 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 means of connecting Downtown, Midtown and the Cotton District.
“Remediating barriers to walking and increasing connectivity of this corridor through the installation of public art and intersection safety improvements also will allow greater social interactions, thus strengthening the sense of community,” said Small Town Center Director Leah Kemp.
The survey, which covers possible color schemes, image preferences and whether the survey-taker would be willing to volunteer to paint, can be found online at https://bit.ly/33ZJdIr.
The Small Town Center’s team of designers will create the asphalt art designs and intersection improvement designs based on feedback and input gathered from the public.
“Designs will be developed with the goal of creating a unified aesthetic to connect downtown to the campus,” Kemp said. “They will also aim to advance and promote equity and amplify community voices that have been overlooked or undervalued.” Painting is tentatively scheduled to begin in July.
“This grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies gives Starkville a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase our thriving artist community and is also a tremendous opportunity for the community to provide their input into the creative process,” said Mary Switzer, executive director of Starkville Area Arts Council. “The input of our community matters, and we want people to know that not only does this allow us to beautify our roads and sidewalks, but it also strengthens the crucial town and gown relationship between Starkville and MSU.”
According to the Asphalt Art Initiative’s website, each city will receive up to $25,000 to install “projects in 2022-23 that use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage residents of their communities.”
Asphalt Art Initiative supported projects in 16 United States cities in 2020. It focuses on “asphalt art,” such as visual interventions on roadways (intersections and crosswalks), pedestrian spaces (plazas and sidewalks), and vertical infrastructure (utility boxes, traffic barriers, and underpasses).
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