COVINGTON, Ky. – Whatever its scope and scale, whether permanent or ephemeral, public art is iconic for a city. Much of its beauty and impact is in its element of surprise – bold creations that you come upon on the side of a building, in a park, or beneath a bridge.
That’s certainly the case in The Cov, where you can suddenly find yourself beneath the lens of a massive green alien … surrounded by the bold images on the walls of an otherwise ominous gray underpass … or wrapped in a prism of color while seated in a veritable stained glass bench.
The impact is powerful.
“Public art plays a critical role in the sense of place and creating spaces that attract and inspire people, and inspired people are what make cities like The Cov such great places to live,” said Covington Economic Development Director Tom West.
Its amid that context that Covington Creates’ Summer 2024: Public Art event happens Thursday, July 18, from 5:30 p.m. until “sunset” at Scribble Park. The “outdoor summer bash” will feature a panel of talented local artists discussing public art, and then a DJ to “keep the good times rolling.”
“Public art takes many forms, and ‘street art’ is one of those forms that is probably underappreciated by many, but Scribble seems to serve as a dynamic and open, ever-changing, gallery for many artists who would otherwise never find their works in a museum or gallery, said West. “That fact should not take away from its value and validity to both the artists and the community.”
Chances are you’re well aware of Scribble Park, having biked or jogged by the concrete canvas of art located at 14 Pete Rose Pier. It serves as a fitting backdrop to the event, a veritable “gallery” of creations by local artists. To get there, turn north on Pete Rose Pier from Third Street and drive one block to the floodwall entrance. (Pete Rose Pier is the continuation of Bakewell Street to the river.)
Summer 2024: Public Art is one of Covington Creates’ quarterly panel discussions, which aims to bring together agencies, students, creative professionals, entrepreneurs, City officials, and curious minds to discuss creative topics. Past events have highlighted package design, public relations, AI, and video. Covington Creates invites creative agencies in Northern Kentucky to host an event, and that agency chooses the topic for the panel.
“Covington Creates was started about six years ago with the simple intention of creating a meet-up for creatives living and working in Covington or Northern Kentucky,” said Jackie Roberto, co-founder of Madison Design Group at 515 Madison Ave., which, along with AGNT design group at 314 W 8th St., re-launched the creative group after the COVID-19 pandemic. “When we first started here, we were like one of five creative people who worked in this kind of creative marketing industry.”
That changed as Covington grew and attracted more creatives.
“We started seeing more of them out and about, and thought we needed a way to come together and know one another in the community,” said Roberto, adding that connecting creatives remains the driving force behind Covington Creates. “We all work in these creative fields, and we have our own specialty, but we wind up collaborating with others.”
The panel discussion is a Q&A with the panelists, but Roberto said panelists will be open to attendees who want to ask questions.
“It’s really intended to be more of a dialogue than a monologue,” said Roberto. “We try hard to create a format that is as inviting as possible, while imparting good information on interesting topics.”
Thursday evening’s event features an impressive list of talented local artists:
- Marc Phelps, co-founder of AlloyFX – a 3-D, video, and technology company in Covington – and creator of Clive the Alien on Scott Street. Phelps, who is hosting the event, will soon make his 15th trip to Burning Man, a week-long large-scale desert event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert that focuses on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. During icy winter months, he creates elaborate ice sculptures in his Crestview Hills neighborhood, and just three weeks ago he built a 12-foot pelican driftwood sculpture for Rocky Fork Lake in Hillsboro, Ohio.
- Janet Creekmore, a user-experience designer, artist, and community builder. A conceptual artist, Creekmore creates collaborative, socially engaged experiences in public spaces. She lives in Covington, where she leads numerous community projects.
- David Rickerd, who has been painting most of his life – taught and inspired by his father – and has worked more than 30 years as a graphic designer. Rickerd now paints murals and portraits in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.
- Carus Waggoner. who has designed and fabricated art for more than 25 years and owns Second Sight Spirits in Ludlow. Trained in industrial design, his projects include custom pieces for Cirque Du Soleil’s Beatles Love and Viva Elvis in Las Vegas, the San Francisco Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet.
- Jay Becker, BLDG founder and president.
Roberto said it was Cheryl Besl, BE NKY Growth Partnership’s vice president of marketing, who suggested she reach out to Phelps to host the event.
“Marc was the one who said, ‘Let’s do public art,’ ” said Roberto. “He’s taking it to the next level.”
Phelps, whose Clive the Alien has become a Covington icon, said his journey to public art started when he attended Burning Man for the first time in 2007.
“Seeing so many people working so hard in 105-110 degree days – and they weren’t getting paid for it – it was just one of those super cool things that I couldn’t believe,” said Phelps. “I thought, ‘I want to bring some of that back,’ and I’ve been doing a lot of collaborative art ever since.”
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