For immediate release:
Fund for the Arts
Mollie LaFavers
mlafavers@fundforthearts.org
502-882-8697
LOCAL ART INSTALLED ON BILLBOARDS AND IN BUSES
LOUISVILLE (November 8, 2021) – Fund for the Arts is announcing ArtsHeal, a new initiative that increases access to the arts in Greater Louisville by activating public spaces with artworks including billboards in several Louisville neighborhoods and on the ceilings of Transit Authority of River City (TARC) buses. Other public art elements of this project are still in development in the Parkland and California neighborhoods and will be announced in the coming months. The theme for this project is “healing through the arts.”
This program is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) Our Town grant awarded to Louisville Metro Government and Fund for the Arts, and in collaboration with partners including Center for Neighborhoods, Healing Walls Project, Louisville Public Media, OUTFRONT, and TARC. Our Town is the NEA’s creative placemaking grant program. These grants support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes. To find out more about how NEA grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
“The arts play a crucial role in healing our communities and making our city a more beautiful and enriching place to live,” said Andre Kimo Stone Guess, President & CEO of the Fund for the Arts. “The ArtsHeal project turns nontraditional, everyday spaces into canvases where artists can share their work and reach new audiences.”
ArtsHeal will bring artworks to several public spaces around the city, including billboards, TARC buses, and other locations that will be announced at a later date. Participating billboards can be found in the Schnitzelburg, Smoketown, Park Hill, Shelby Park, and Shively neighborhoods in Louisville. The artworks can also be found on TARC “Michelangelo” spaces on the ceilings of 25 buses in circulation throughout the city.
Artists’ work featured in this project include:
- Clarence Calloway (MAD MOON VyBE)
- Bud Dorsey (via Louisville Story Program)
- Kala Lewis
- Debra Lott
- Morgan McGill
- Desmone Stepp
- Victor Sweatt
To learn more about this project and the participating artists, visit fundforthearts.org/artsheal
About Fund for the Arts
Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit with the mission to maximize the impact of the arts on economic development, education, and quality of life in our community. The Fund is a convener, promoter, leader, and driver of Imagine Greater Louisville 2025, the region’s arts and cultural plan. It facilitates the largest arts grant program in Kentucky as well as conducts one of the oldest united arts campaigns in the country. For more information, visit www.fundforthearts.org.
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