Larry Malott is taking art and creativity to the streets with
Amazing Urban Adventures. Earlier this year, he received a $10,000
People’s Liberty grant to help jumpstart his project, which had a soft launch at Northside’s Fourth of July parade.
Malott was inspired by Carnival and similar events that celebrate, parade and dance in the street while wearing a mask and costume.
“I sought funding from People’s Liberty because they fund individuals and projects that engage the public, and they’re willing to fund projects that are a bit out of the ordinary, so it just seemed like the perfect fit,” Malott said.
Amazing Urban Adventures features people dressed up in costumes made from reusable materials like trash bags, aluminum and cardboard boxes. It also encourages kids of all ages to get creative through mask-making workshops.
“This is the natural evolution of my public performance artwork, and builds upon my previous work by engaging more people and encourages them to join in the celebration and performance instead of just being a viewer,” Malott said.
The official launch was at Riverfest, where Amazing Urban Adventures performed on the P&G Pavilion stage and then paraded across the Purple People Bridge. Since then, Malott has taken his project to Art Off Pike and the most recently the Mini Maker Faire.
In the next few months, Malott will be doing parades and performances around downtown, especially around the holidays. There will also be a kids’ mask making workshop and parade on Dec. 28 at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Malott has a larger event in the works for the beginning of March.
Twice per year, eight grantees are chosen per grant cycle to prototype solutions to civic challenges. Project grantees are supported with $10,000, a launch event and access to People’s Liberty’s workplace and mentorship. Stay tuned to Soapbox for profiles of this year's 15 other grantees.
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