We are excited to announce that we have recently commissioned Gibbs Rounsavall, a Louisville artist and teacher at Fairdale High School, to design and paint our third mural in Louisville’s Shelby Park neighborhood.
The creative arts are often considered to be at the periphery of the community development process and only a minor player in regenerating neighborhoods. We believe that the cultivation of smart, skilled, conceptually rich and beautiful art is essential for the health and development of individuals and communities. We are using colorful, large-scale murals that honor the neighborhood to help beautify Shelby Park and demonstrate the restorative power of art in communities.
Not only are we investing in the creative arts within a neighborhood, but also in the artists themselves. We are honored to stand alongside these creatives as they produce new, unique work. We believe the development and support of creatives are critical for positive impact in communities. We have identified the need to provide access to artists to come up with new ideas and the support to try them out. We provide them with the resources to pursue their creative vision that we believe will have far-reaching implications for themselves, their work, and the community.
Based in Louisville, KY, Rounsavall is well-known for his abstract enamel paintings exploring movement through pattern and color. And his accomplishments as an art teacher at a local high school demonstrates his rootedness to the community. We began meeting, planning and brainstorming with Rounsavall early this summer about the project. “Bringing art into communities and neighborhoods is absolutely the right direction to go into,” said Rounsavall. “I really like the challenge of it, that’s what drew me to it”. We then decided to install the mural on a building we recently purchased and are currently renovating. The building, soon to become Scarlet’s Bakery, sits on the corner of Shelby and Oak St., which is one of the busiest intersection in the neighborhood.
In July, we began cleaning and priming the walls with the help of community volunteers. Rounsavall started bringing the 750-square-foot mural to life soon after. A theme of connections began to emerge in the design, in the artist’s interactions with the community, and the communities involvement with each other. “The community becomes an active participant in the whole process and that has been very exciting. It is definitely going to steer my whole process into a new direction,” said Rounsavall. What was born was “Sunshine & Shadow”, a mural formed of colorfully interwoven circles and lines, that brightens the building, which will soon become a local bakery.
Currently, Rounsavall is painting by hand new colors and patterns until the entire wall is filled. Once the mural is complete, we plan to host a block party to meet the artist, experience the mural, and gather as a community.
For more images from the community of our murals designed by local artists check out #AVmural on Instagram.
