Contact:
Julia Wood, Director of Donor Services Community Foundation of Central Georgia
(478) 750-‐9338, ext. 105 [email protected]
NEWS RELEASE For immediate release: January 3, 2013
Developing a comprehensive plan to attract public art
to Macon and Bibb County continues. Macon, GA – Cesar Trasobares, a public art consultant, was brought to Macon in August 2012 through the Community Foundation of Central Georgia’s Knight Neighborhood Challenge program to help develop a plan and process to attract significant public art to Macon and Bibb County. Following the recommendations of his visit, a Public Art Committee has been established, and they are moving forward with a plan for public art. The next three steps in the process are:
(1) The Public Art Committee, along with community input, will develop a site inventory of possible locations for public art in Macon.
(2) The Public Art Committee is drafting a public art ordinance for the city and county to consider, which would accommodate future public art projects. The ordinance will define the process of judging the artistic merit of public art projects.
(3) The Community Foundation of Central Georgia is eager to receive proposals through the Knight Neighborhood Challenge program from artists or arts organizations to do public art projects in the College Hill Corridor as pilots for public art in Macon. If you have an idea for public art, we strongly encourage you to set up an appointment with the staff of the Community Foundation now to discuss your idea, by calling 478-‐750-‐9338. If there is enough interest, we may create a spring 2013 deadline for public art applications. Otherwise, the next scheduled KNC deadline is 5pm on June 30, 2013 and the application is available at www.cfcga.org/knc
The Knight Neighborhood Challenge has already funded a few public art projects including the Macon Arts Alliance’s Trail of Bears and Façade Squad’s wall mural on the former Milady Cleaners building on College Street. It is our hope that developing a more detailed and comprehensive plan will encourage additional public art both in the corridor and in Macon-‐Bibb County at large in the years to come.
For more information on the Public Art Committee, if you have an idea to improve or enhance the College Hill Corridor, or if you want to learn more about how you can contribute to a project in the College Hill Master Plan, please contact the Community Foundation of Central Georgia at 478-‐750-‐9338. You can also visit our website at www.cfcga.org/knc. About Knight Neighborhood Challenge The Knight Neighborhood Challenge is a broad-‐based, competitive grant program that funds the best ideas – small and large – that give College Hill a sense of place, spruce up its parks and public spaces or enhance the arts and entertainment scene. The effort also aims to get residents involved in College Hill through an array of civic and cultural projects. Successful projects will respond to community needs and opportunities within the five areas identified in the College Hill Alliance Master Plan. They will be programmatic in nature, will have a well-‐developed plan for sustainability, will involve teamwork, will be citizen-‐led and will be inclusive. They may not be political or discriminatory. Guidelines and online applications are available at www.cfcga.org/knc and the next deadline is December 31, 2012. About Community Foundation of Central Georgia The Community Foundation of Central Georgia was founded in 1993 by a group of citizens interested in encouraging philanthropy and strengthening communities. Since then, the foundation has awarded more than $50 million in grants through its donor-‐advised, unrestricted, designated, field-‐of-‐interest, scholarship and organizational endowment funds. As a local center for philanthropy, the Community Foundation of Central Georgia works with individuals, families, corporations, private foundations and nonprofit organizations to carry out their charitable objectives and address emerging community issues. It is one of more than 700 community foundations in the country. About John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change.
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