The contract reads that Paint it Back of Clinton, Iowa receives the designation of the Iowa Arts Council’s Creative Places Accelerator. This is because someone needed to be the lead applicant. The designation truly recognizes that a cross-sector of a community is dedicated to furthering arts-based projects in a meaningful way.
Since the first University of Iowa downtown mural and then the mural on the Lyons Post Office building, the City of Clinton has had a renaissance in placemaking. With this new grant and recognition, the community through a cross-sector of partners will take advantage of workshops provided by the state and then utilize $23,000 to achieve additional large-scale arts-based placemaking projects.
“When I made my pivot into placemaking, I dreamed of today. The Grove and Wildness are great examples of collaborations to create placemaking in natural environments. I created Paint it Back with Chris Shannon to create an urban placemaking statement. While it is a great personal joy for us to do the art, we see the projects happening around the city and are excited to work with our cross-sector of partners to make the arts central to Clinton’s future. I’ve heard from Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Economic Development Authority that there will be a focus on the arts in economic development,” said Gabi Torres co-founder of Paint it Back.
In the Creative Places Accelerator application, the narrative used the Energize Clinton statements to show that over 1,000 people contributed to a process that provided projects and value statements for seven key aspects of what makes Clinton, Clinton. The key to meaningful placemaking is that the projects reflect what makes a community unique but also reflects what the community has deemed important to them.
The projects highlighted were from Paint it Back, Gabi Torres, Clinton Hometown Pride, City of Clinton, Energize Clinton, and Grow Clinton. A key focus of the grant was how the projects were artist centric and resident driven to create placemaking that told a unique story. The Energize Clinton process, and the fact each partner had a track record, helped to make a compelling story that Clinton is ready to further create.
“The grant is still brand new. So we are working on the details, but what does excite me is that a great cross sector of Clinton get to meet regularly to discuss art projects and placemaking. That alone is of immense value. However, we get to attend workshops to learn from mentors, learn from peers, and also get to showcase Clinton to the state and partners. It’s something the whole community should take great pride in. Iowa Arts Council called our partners to encourage us to apply as they have taken notice of our artistic growth,” said Matthew Parbs, VP of Grow Clinton, President of Paint it Back, and Treasurer of Clinton Hometown Pride.
The program is a multiyear process. In year one, Clinton’s cross sector team will attend multiple in person and virtual workshops. These workshops will connect Clinton’s placemaking team with mentors and help the cohort develop placemaking initiatives for years to come. At the end of the process, Clinton’s cohort receives $23,000 to kickstart placemaking activities developed during this process. The funding is through support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council, which exists within the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
“The program was for small to midsize Iowa communities that have a cross-sector community team work together to develop arts-based projects to serve as catalysts for livability, economic development, and community connectedness. Hometown Pride enjoys working with our board and community partners to develop placemaking that puts Clinton on the map. I want to also give a shoutout to Synergy for their role” said Gary Delacy, Chair of Clinton Hometown Pride.
For more information, please reach out to Matt Parbs at mparbs@growclinton.org and 563.242.5702. As the grant unfolds there will be opportunities for collaboration and ideas.
“The City of Clinton is excited to work with the partners to further develop artistic projects. Working with citizens and committees and using our CIP funding, multiple projects have come to fruition. The sidewalk murals, downtown murals, the sculptures on riverfront, and others. You can check out a Synergy created map to see the public art projects and also don’t forget to download Grow Clinton’s River Arts passport to see all of the art” said Matt Brooke, City Administrator of Clinton.
