The City of Paducah in collaboration with the Yeiser Art Center will submit a grant application to create a “pocket park” featuring a community-made mural.
The city is asking for $30,000 dollars from the Delta Creative Placemaking Pilot Initiative, which was created by the Delta Regional Authority to promote art and culture in the Mississippi River region. The grant will take a vacant space on Broadway and turn it into a small park. Yeiser Executive Director Stacey Reason said the mural will show Paducah’s history of producing buttons from harvested mussels in the Ohio River.
“Pearl buttons are very iridescent. So the image itself will have a lot of teal and fushia and will be a very colorful image.” Reason said.
Reason said the Yeiser is handing out kits at schools, community events and the art center for people to hand-paint and add to the mural. The project is expected to be complete by late fall. She said painting a square will be free and requires no previous painting experience.