More than 100 volunteers were beautifying a parking lot retaining wall in downtown Tallahassee on Friday, Sept. 24. It was part of a series of public art projects around the community.
What was a blank concrete wall at the entrance to the main Leon County Public Library now boasts attractive blocks of color. Shannon Colavecchio is in the current Community Catalyst class of the Knight Creative Communities' Institute that is spearheading the beautification effort.
"It was great to see everyone come out and take a step to beautify the area and come together as a community to create art. That was a great way to end the week and to kick off placemaking week," she remarked, adding that the Placemaking Campaign continues through the first of October. And local muralist Cosby Hayes who's directing the work said there's also a practical consideration: the paintings discourage graffiti.
"It can have a deterring element to it. I think it also brings a level of pride to spaces that people will consider before vandalizing."
That's also a motivation behind the KCCI campaign to cover many of the city's traffic light control boxes with colorful artwork.
