IU launches rural public art, placemaking initiative
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Thirteen rural Indiana organizations will work with Indiana University this summer to create new placemaking and public art elements in their communities through the Rural Placemaking Studio initiative.
The studio connects IU faculty and students with rural residents who want to improve their communities through art and design, whether in building architecture, public spaces, cultural activities, recreational opportunities or other avenues, the university said.
“Creative placemaking in a rural community is more than painting a mural,” Jon Racek, director of the ServeDesign Center, said in a news release. “Placemaking can make a physical marker to a sense of shared memories and deep connection to a place. It is through placemaking that rural communities can cultivate their unique identity and turn their downtowns into vibrant hubs of cultural heritage and local pride.”
The selected projects include murals but also wayfinding signage, architectural and park design, and downtown revitalization efforts in the counties of Clark, Daviess, Green, Martin, Orange, Owen Washington and Warrick.
The Rural Placemaking Studio is a collaboration between two university community partnership endeavors: the Center for Rural Engagement and the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design’s IU ServeDesign Center. The studio expands upon efforts in 2019, 2021 and 2022 to install art graduate students over the summers in four rural communities: Paoli, Huntingburg, Nashville and Salem.
“Our students tell us that their experiences connecting in community have been an invaluable complement to the training they receive in the studio,” Eskenazi School Founding Dean Peg Faimon said in the news release. “The experience has allowed them to engage with Hoosiers—individuals, business owners and government officials—to identify needs and concerns, and formulate creative solutions. It’s a gratifying service opportunity and tangible demonstration of the use and value of an art and design education.”
The 13 organizations were selected through a proposal process that included information about the project idea, implementation plans and partners involved. A future call for proposals is planned for winter 2025.