RiseUP is leading an initiative in the Parkville neighborhood of Hartford to bring over 50,000 square feet of murals across the district. Dubbed, Parkville Paints Project (PPP), the murals will bring vibrancy, color and attraction to the Parkville neighborhood and really cement it as the Innovative and Creative Capital of the state.
Local business owner, Carlos Mouta emphasized, "I've been in this neighborhood for a while, over 40 years, and I've seen the transformation. It's really important that not only the artists are working and making a good living, but for the people in the community. To Beautify Parkville and be known as the Arts District."
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One of the primary missions of RiseUP is to cultivate a creative community of Connecticut-based artists and locally based artists. With this type of investment, we can help create living wage and livable working opportunities for artists in this community, and it can help transform their lives as much as they're helping to change other lives.
We started a GoFundMe page to for supporters to donate: https://gofund.me/20390ba2. As of August 11th we have raised $11,150 to create public art in Parkville. Our goal is $500,000!
Parkville Paints Project has the opportunity to transform and redefine the Parkville neighborhood for decades to come, and it will happen with support from individuals like you. This type of project will bring the community together, bring artists together, and bring businesses together to really transform something in a GRASSROOTS way.
Murals will stretch along Park Street, Bartholomew Ave, and Hamilton Street to create a trail of beautiful artwork for residents and visitors to enjoy.
The murals will be a blend of artist inspiration and also highlight the history and cultures of the neighborhood. For example, one of the murals will be located on a highly visible wall on the corner of Park Street and New Park Ave. The mural will honor the historical figures of Parkville (Margaret Clapis Merriman and Joseph A. Langlais) while highlighting the innovation and creativity that is the future of Parkville. Blending history, today's reality and the community's future into beautiful pieces of art.
Another mural is slated for the Charter Oak Boxing Association and honoring Hartford's boxing champion Willie Pep.
The PPP will put hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local creative economy and Parkville neighborhood that will benefit for decades. This support for public art will transform the historic Parkville neighborhood into a world-class art and creative destination.
Benefits of this Public Art Project
Covering the neighborhood with professional street art will inject additional energy into Parkville that compliments the current developments happening to revitalize the neighborhood. Studies have shown that public art and murals strengthen a community's identity and have tremendous cultural and economic benefits.
In addition to the neighborhood benefits, localized public art also supports the local creative workforce by creating work opportunities that local artists would otherwise need to travel far distances or move out of the community to have. These mural projects will pay local artists living and competitive wages to complete the murals.