Crossing in Style: Creative Crosswalks Coming to Whitely

Representatives from neighborhoods in and around Downtown Muncie (including East Central, Old West End, South Central, Thomas Park/Avondale, Riverside/Normal City, and Whitely) gathered on July 20 to refine their designs for the Creative Crosswalks project. Creative Crosswalks is an initiative through the College of Architecture and Planning (CAP), funded by an Academic Excellence Grant, intended to strengthen community pride with a series of artistically designed crosswalks to be painted on designated streets at points of entry to each neighborhood.

The first workshop, which took place in May, introduced community members to the mission of the project and connected them with CAP students and faculty who are orchestrating the project. July’s workshop gave community design teams a chance to learn about how their artwork would be transferred to a digital program for producing stencils with the help of a laser cutter.

Pamela Harwood, associate professor of Architecture, kicked off the meeting by sharing photos of the potential locations and early versions of the design for each of the six neighborhood associations. Each group had the opportunity to watch a demonstration of the laser cutter turning their designs into small-scale stencils. Later in the evening, community members were given the chance to test out their stencils using tempera paint on a large sheet of paper. The final designs will be created using a special high-grade paint that is resistant to heavy traffic and weather conditions, provided by PPG.

Richard Ivy, a Goal 1 committee member, had a vision for a crosswalk design that would incorporate the vibrant colors of the Whitely Community Council logo. He enlisted the help of his niece, MyKel Ivy, a Burris student whose large-scale design work has previously been displayed on a billboard. MyKel worked with the design team to incorporate images that illustrate specific features of the Whitely community, including symbols for the hospital, the park, education, and a silhouette of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The finalized design will be painted at two crosswalks, including the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Highland, and the intersection of Macedonia and Highland. Mr. Ivy indicated the possibility of painting a third intersection in the future if funding is available.

If you’re interested in contributing to this project, you can make a donation to our Year of Color fund at https://www.gofundme.com/eszqjzfg.