We invested and supported Gibbs Rounsavall, a local artist and teacher well-known for his abstract enamel paintings exploring movement through pattern and color, to take on a new creative project outside of the studio and in public. Our investment in Rounsavall provided him the time and the resources to pursue his creative vision for a mural that we believe will have far-reaching implications for himself, his work, and the community. Rounsavall was given full creative control to design and install a mural that would beautify and inspire the community.
How We Helped
In the summer of 2015, we started meeting with Rounsavall to discuss a potential partnership to design and install a large mural in the Shelby Park neighborhood of Louisville. We helped discover and confirm a building that would be used by Rounsavall as his canvas for a 750-square-foot mural. After selecting a building, Rounsavall began designing a small mock-up of the mural while our team assembled volunteers to help clean and prime the walls for the project.
“The community becomes an active participant in the whole creative process and that has been very exciting. It is definitely going to steer my whole process into a new direction,” said Rounsavall.
We helped throughout the installation by funding, advising, and promoting Rounsavall’s work. After the completion of the mural, we hosted an event for the community to meet the artist and celebrate the new work. Our investments in the creative economy encourage artistic development, nurtures artistic creativity, and recognizes the contributions and inspiration individual artists make to the creative environment in a city.
