News Release - Mayor Celebrates Plans to Restore ARTWalk in the Neighborhood of the Arts

City of Rochester

News Release

(Friday, July 13, 2018) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren celebrated efforts today to restore ARTWalk, an outdoor art trail that connects artistic centers and public spaces in the Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA). The restoration is intended to be a community-wide effort, involving local artists and city youth.

“Rochester’s ARTWalk is such a unique and beautiful feature for our city. We hope to encourage the creativity of our young people and continue building a sense of community,” Mayor Warren said. “Projects like this create a vibrant community and improve our quality of life, qualities employers seek when they determine where to bring jobs, and also help us create better educational opportunities.”

The Mayor and City Council have agreed to contribute up to $75,000 toward ARTWalk over the next two years, with funds drawn from unspent monies from prior years. The money will support local artwork and youth programming.

The full scope of the project will be determined upon further community input. The ARTWalk has the support of the Neighborhood of the Arts business community and its residents.

Doug Rice, one of ARTWalk’s founders, said the outdoor art trail, which runs along University Avenue from the Memorial Gallery to the George Eastman House, needs work after suffering from the elements and wear and tear over the years.

“ARTWalk is excited to be working in partnership with the City of Rochester again. Our mission is to build and strengthen community, using the arts as a vehicle,” Rice said.

Plans are to repaint most of the ARTWalk’s existing features and restore others that have been removed, like the coffee cup benches in front of Starry Nights café and the zoetrope on the Image City bench.

Children and the community will be invited to help decorate different light poles along the route with a variety of mosaic projects that will be scheduled over the coming year.

Local artist and muralist Shawn Dunwoody created a new sidewalk painting outside 670 University Ave. to mark the launch of the ARTWalk restoration project.

“The spirit of ARTWalk plays a central role for community engagement, especially for our youth,” said Shawn Dunwoody. “We need to keep this spirit alive, connecting with past, present, and future artists and creatives in our community.”

For more information, go to: www.artwalkrochester.org/

###

News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo, 428-7135.