Our Story
Arts in the Alley aims to
revitalize inner-city and downtown neighborhoods by cleaning up and
revitalizing alleys and streets that are currently in disarray, making them
into safer places for residents, schools, and businesses and transform the alleys
into a bright, outdoor mural gallery.
After getting all the
appropriate permits and permissions, during Arts in the Alley one or two alleys
or blocks in a downtown or inner-city neighborhood are cleaned up (trash
removal, weeding, removing dangerous items like broken glass and needles,
cleaning up graffiti) on a Saturday, and on Sunday they are transformed into a
brighter and better place through painting murals. All
the work – designing murals, cleanup work, and painting
murals – is done by volunteers. Families and children are welcomed, and one of our most touching stories is Mia, who at not-quite-yet 5 came to Arts in the Alley with her mom. We got Mia and her mom working on cleaning part of a wall and figured Mia would probably be able to do that for, oh, 30 minutes or so. We were wrong. Mia cleaned, primed, and painted for more than six hours, telling her mom she wanted to finish "helping Miss Joyce" (the woman who operates a small beauty shop out of the building Mia was working on. What an example!
Our next Arts in the Alley
is coming up April 14-15, 2012 and we are so excited! We will be painting
murals in the Richmond neighborhood of Fulton Hill, a historic area of the city
that needs some TLC.
The Impact
The rejuvenated alleys help
create safer neighborhoods, a more cheerful living, working, and playing
environment, and the concept of "art in the streets" as well as
building a sense of community and providing an opportunity for local residents
to develop a greater sense of ownership.
What We Need & What You Get
We need paint (lots of it),
paint brushes, edgers, brushes, sandpaper, primer, drop cloths, cleaning
supplies , small tools - as well as water and lunch/snacks for the volunteers.
Our total cost for an Arts in the Alley project is $3,000 - we hope to raise
$2,000 through Indiegogo (although we would love to raise all $3,000 this way). Can you help us? No donation is too small, and many
small donations will add up quickly. If we raise more than $3,000 we will use the rest for the NEXT Arts in the Alley, coming in the Summer of 2012.
Other Ways You Can Help
Let others know about the project and
about our need for funds. Sign up to volunteer at Arts in the Alley here: http://richmondartsinthealley.com/contact.html
You can help the entire weekend, or help for a few hours. While we welcome artists, it's not a requirement to participate: we have plenty of "paint by numbers" projects at each Arts in the Alley!