City of Gastonia and Gaston County planners have won a grant for beautification of the back entrance to the Gaston County Administration building.
The grant stems from a Centralina Council of Governments (CCOG) Regional Conference Workshop with author and consultant Peter Kageyama about how the love of place matters and even a small project can have a big impact. To help translate ideas into action, the CCOG developed the Love Where You Live: Creative Placemaking Assistance Grant.
Background:
City and County planners decided that the “stark and uninviting” Gaston County Administration Building needed to feel more accessible, supportive, friendly and beautiful. The back entrance, which is heavily utilized and faces public parking, will be the site for several custom art projects: a revolving outdoor art gallery, multilingual hopscotch, clean graffiti and landscape murals.
Process:
The County will hold two art competitions, one in connection with Gaston County Schools and another open to the public. Both will be advertised via local media, community groups, social media, public schools and community colleges. Winners will be announced during a December Winterfest event.
City and County Planners:
“The workshop opened our minds to the possibilities of programs that we, as City and County employees could implement to assist the community in building a greater rapport between government and the community, with the end result being residents with a greater sense of ownership in their community.”
Stay tuned for more information after project implementation begins.
