Leap Year Lights Festival
Riverfront Park is located on the Nashua River in downtown Fitchburg. Throughout the 1900s, paper manufacturers dumped dyes and other industrial byproducts into the river, and the river was named one of the 10 most polluted in the nation in 1960.[1] Residents fought for new and improved water treatment plants and today the river is…
Read MoreUnion Station Revival
As a city that has lost more than half its population in the last 50 years, Gary, Indiana, faces significant challenges with vacancy and abandonment, including that of its historic Union Station. The Beaux-Arts building was built in 1910, but sat forgotten and left to the elements for nearly half a century. In 2016, a…
Read MoreFreedom Square
Freedom Square features an art stage and hosts block-party style events, with free music and food, multicamera shoots, resource tables, and art activities for children. Media Alliance, a nonprofit focused on arts and cultural development in Troy, led two major components of the project: the installation of an art stage, and the development of The…
Read MoreLynn Lights
Lynn is a formerly industrial city on the Atlantic coast just north of Boston, and in the early 2000s it was suffering from economic and built environment challenges. Local leaders were working to address those issues and were interested in community feedback. As part of this work, the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment) held a…
Read MoreGary Public Murals and Statues
At its peak, Gary had a population of more than 200,000 people but over the years its population has declined to 80,000 people. Steel mills and oil refineries along the lakefront were once large employers but as the industry declined, so have job opportunities. As has happened with other rust belt communities, when those employers…
Read MoreDesign Dash
West Oakland has long been a center of systemic exclusion. Once a thriving African American community, it is now a struggling area due to historic redlining, an intrusive highway system, pollution from the Port of Oakland, and dilapidated infrastructure. Just north of downtown, the area finds itself sandwiched between gentrification hotspots as a result of…
Read MoreBeyond Walls Mural Festival
Located just north of Boston on the Atlantic Ocean, Lynn, was once a thriving manufacturing center. It was dubbed the “shoe-making capital of the world” in 1885, but as production began to decline and eventually moved elsewhere, Lynn, like many cities, was left with large industrial buildings and the need for new economic opportunities. The…
Read MoreActivate Mill Street
In 2019, through an open call process, Activate Mill Street organizers selected ten local artists who installed vibrant art in the alley off of a main commercial corridor. The alley also was reused to allow for on-site events such as from yoga classes, breakdance competitions, and a concert series. It’s not uncommon to walk by…
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