Over 100 volunteers have signed up to help create a street mural outside of the Kan-Kan Cinema at the intersection of Windsor and Commerce streets Friday through Sunday, June 3-5.
The mural’s goal is to create neighborhood safety measures and to encourage more walking and biking in the area. By highlighting this specific intersection with colorful artwork, organizers said they are outlining safe crossings for pedestrians and calming the traffic that often races through the area.
Kan-Kan Cinema is partnering with muralist Shamira Wison, designer Danicia Monét, Interaction Design Lab-Rokh and other local partners on a public art installation project in the Near Eastside neighborhood of Windsor Park. The work is made possible by support from a 2021 Tactical Urbanism Grant awarded to the Indianapolis Film Project, the engine that powers the Kan-Kan, and by the Indiana Department of Health’s Division of Nutrition & Physical Activity.
“This particular project is exciting because it allows us to create engaging and unique public art that is visible throughout the Near Eastside, with an emphasis on doing so in unexpected places,” said Louise Henderson, executive director of the Indianapolis Film Project. “It also allows us to build stronger and safer connections for cyclists and pedestrians in the Windsor Park neighborhood.”
Henderson noted that Windsor Park has been classified as a “somewhat walkable” neighborhood. She said the Kan-Kan is committed to raising that rating by creating better signage for traffic flow, improving the experience of pedestrians and bikers and increasing activity for the park, library and neighborhood.
“This new, colorful street mural will be a critical first step to help calm traffic, increase safety and beautify the intersection,” Henderson said. “We believe that it will remind drivers that they are in a residential area where people walk their dogs and children play outside, establishing a sense of place and encouraging caution.”
The June 3-5 “paint-in” is intended to engage the neighborhood and the larger Kan-Kan community in a fun weekend of painting the intersection. It is being held in collaboration with Shamira Wison, Rokh, Spades Park Library, the newly opened businesses on the Kan-Kan campus, the Windsor Park Neighborhood Association and other local partners.
PHOTO ABOVE: Kan-Kan Cinema is located at 1258 Windsor St. in the Windsor Park neighborhood.
