TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The City of Tallahassee announced Thursday it is one of 26 cities nationwide selected for a $25,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The Capital City Crosswalks project in the Greater Bond neighborhood was selected from more than 200 projects submitted by U.S. cities for the current round of Asphalt Art Initiative grant.
“This grant adds another layer of support to the vision the Greater Bond Community has set forth for itself through its Neighborhood First Plan,” Mayor John Dailey said. “I was proud to support it, as arts-driven tactical urbanism projects like this help improve street safety, add vibrancy to visible public spaces and engage residents.”
The Asphalt Art Initiative focuses on art and its ability to transform a city.
Bloomberg's program helps cities looking to improve street safety, revitalize public infrastructure and engage residents to integrate visual art into their designs.
This grant provides necessary funds to help add vibrancy to select areas with high pedestrian traffic in the Bond neighborhood, like the newly installed Bond Linear Park and Bond Elementary School.
In a partnership with the Council on Culture & Arts, artists will be commissioned to design and install the art, reflecting the history and significance the neighborhood brings to Tallahassee.
To learn more about the Asphalt Art Initiative, visit asphaltart.bloomberg.org.
This is the second art-related grant successfully applied for in the last three months to support the Greater Bond community in line with its adopted Neighborhood First Plan.
The Council on Culture & Arts, in partnership with the City of Tallahassee and the Greater Bond neighborhood, was recently awarded a Cross-Sector Impact Grant from South Arts in the amount of $15,000. The grant will be combined with $10,000 for neighborhood art that was allocated from the Greater Bond Neighborhood First Plan funding and will be used to implement the Greater Art for Greater Bond neighborhood art project.
Greater Art for Greater Bond is a multifaceted public art project that includes the creation of a mural on Speed’s Grocery Store, a historical building in the neighborhood; an art garden in the recently constructed Bond Linear Park; and street and light post banners featuring the intergenerational art of residents.
Community engagement for the art projects will take place at the upcoming Greater Bond fall festival, which will be held on Saturday, October 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information about the Greater Bond Neighborhood First Plan, visit Talgov.com/NeighborhoodFirst.
