Burnet Avenue's temporary fence received a new installation recently when volunteers hung up Silver Linings, a traveling exhibition from the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC). Originally installed along a public fence in Clifton, the move to Burnet Avenue between Forest Avenue and Rockdale Avenue was to enliven the area and engage the neighborhood.
UCI installed the temporary fence in 2020 when growing safety concerns brought community stakeholders together to address the hot spot on Burnet Avenue. Beth Robinson, President and CEO of Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) reached out to Cincinnati City Councilmember Jan-Michele Kearney in 2020 to help lead this effort. Community members, business owners, residents, the police department, and stakeholders readily joined in the effort to focus on creative ways to engage one another and decrease violence on Burnet Avenue.
"I'm so grateful to the residents and stakeholders who have committed to participating and sharing ideas," Robinson said. "This type of community engagement is vital to decreasing violence in the neighborhood."
CCAC believes in the idea of creative placemaking, using art and culture to build a sense of community pride in a neighborhood. The intent to move Silver Linings to other parts of Uptown was always part of the plan for the installation. April Gallelli, Quality of Life Project Manager at Avondale Development Corporation (ADC), suggested the Burnet Avenue location.
This is not the first-time community members have come together to activate the area. This past December, community members joined in decorating for the holidays. Including solar lights donated by the Cincinnati Zoo, decorations from residents, and a gift giveaway from Cincinnati Police.
"Art is a powerful tool for social-emotional learning and deeper engagement in academics," Leslie Mooney, executive director of CCAC, said. According to Mooney, children who engage with art do better in school, achieve better grades, have lower rates of anxiety and depression, and are twice as likely to graduate from college. Activating the temporary fence line with this installation is another step forward in more creative placemaking opportunities in the future.
The CCAC ran the call for artists' submissions for Silver Linings and helped install the pieces along the temporary fence on Burnet Ave. They asked for photos from artists representing their COVID-19 experience and the silver linings associated with it. The entire exhibit encompasses 50 images from 34 artists from near and far.
"I personally found the exhibit to be both diverse and inspiring," Gallelli said about the installation. Gallelli hopes future projects will continue along the temporary fence and in the neighborhood and is working closely with CCAC to plan cultural events throughout Avondale this summer.
CCAC hopes to work with neighborhood residents and youth and ADC, UCI, and the Avondale Community Council. “We hope to bring in live music and more visual art later this year to the neighborhood that is reflective of the diversity and rich cultural heritage of Avondale,” Mooney said.
You can see Silver Linings on Burnet Avenue through July 12, 2021.
For more information about CCAC and its projects, visit their website. For more information about ADC, visit their website.