A short, one-block section of Sixth Street could be long on fun and creativity for downtown Columbus in the future. And the Columbus Area Arts Council, a local architect couple, and the Columbus Area Visitors Center, would all love to make that a reality.
The two organizations, working with Daniel Martinez and wife Lulu Loquidis, architects with their business called LAA Office, have launched a proposal for what is known as Sixth Street Arts Alley that would ideally include:
A partial artsy canopy of sorts over the street would offer shade and possibly some nighttime lighting.
Flexible, movable furniture for seating.
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A festive, brightly colored, striped and circular-patterned design on the street.
The proposed project between Washington and Franklin streets has already received notable accolades. The project entry placed top 10 in the recent Radical Urban Intervention design competition that included submissions from more than 75 countries.
“It’s a nice feather in our cap,” said Kathryn Armstrong, the arts council’s executive director.
Armstrong said the arts council’s programming at the 411 Gallery at 411 Sixth St. became something of a catalyst for the project, along with work such as LAA Office’s vibrant, southwestern-style design on the gallery’s east exterior wall. Some of the gallery’s exhibition openings included milling crowds of about 180 people spilling onto the closed street.
The overall effort is situated squarely amid the arts council’s office, the local 411 Gallery, the office of Landmark Columbus Foundation, the office of The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, and around the corner from the visitors center. Armstrong mentioned that that concept alone could help all those entities work together more easily on events for the space.
“There’s quite a bit of energy right there,” Armstrong said.
Loquidis agrees, referring to “an awful lot of creativity among all the tenants along that street.”
Phase I fundraising is underway, with a goal of $130,000 to $200,000. That initial phase would not include the proposed canopy. The current generated total stands at $33,000, Armstrong said. Grant applications also currently are pending with organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts.
The public can donate to the cause at artsincolumbus.org. The first phase of the project could be implemented by fall.
“Because of the small scale of Sixth, we started to think of it almost as a room rather than a street,” Martinez said.
The couple said they like the fact that the project easily can be implemented in small stages “to give the community a chance to test it out.”
Also, they are aware of the work nearly a decade ago to brick fourth street to make it a part-time public arts space for festivals, concerts and the like. But they feel there is always room for more.
“We’re of the opinion that our community definitely can benefit from unique and different spaces,” Loquidis said. “And we’ve already seen a lot of success from the mural we did on the 411 Gallery facade.”
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You can support the Sixth Street Arts Alley project by donating to the cause to the Columbus Area Arts Council at artsincolumbus.org.
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