Creative Visions Come Alive on the East Side
By Melissa Dorsch
Last year, The Biscuit reported on new mural from artist Georgie Nakima inside the East Town Market shopping center. The work was commissioned by Red Hill Ventures to show the community that new life was coming to the center.
Now, that relationship is moving further ahead.
This week, Nakima and Red Hill Ventures made a joint announcement that they have received a Placemaking Grant from the City of Charlotte to help establish Vision East Charlotte, a new cultural space to be developed in available spaces within East Town Market between N. Sharon Amity and WT Harris Boulevard.
The project will incorporate “a large scale mural, outdoor art space for community programming and rotating sculpture garden exhibit.”
Proposed locations are subject to change and images are design concepts only, not the actual artwork that has been confirmed for installation. The above images represent the project intent of the and not the actual artwork/sculpture or design of the space.
Nakima, will serve as creative director of Vision East, and Janelle Collins, development and communications for Red Ventures will be the project manager. the Vision East Charlotte project will take shape near Murals, a sculpture garden and ample art space are set to bring a creative touch to the area.
According to their Web site, the project’s stated goals are:
Foster community well-being and beautification through inspired art/sculpture installation in a central area of East Charlotte
Create an environment for art-centric community engagement in East Charlotte
Serve as a visual activator to position East Charlotte as an inclusive creative hub and connect local artists with the community for shared experiences
East Charlotte was looking to make some creative changes to its neighborhood and the Placemaking Grant seemed like an opportunity where that could happen. This sort of high impact, short timeline project is exactly why the Placemaking Grant was established in 2018 –to transform underutilized spaces around Charlotte into community spaces and works of art. It also allows for local artists to pair up with a community and help them define what their community space should like and feel like.
More than $160,000 was awarded to Vision East and 10 other projects through the 2020 Placemaking grant, including a Garden for Wildlife in Hidden Valley and an Edible Landscape Community Garden in Optimist Park.
Your Insights Wanted
The Vision East team is asking for members of the community to provide feedback on their project through survey. All feedback is due by July 31.
