Richmond approved a public art park pilot. Now it's stuck
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A snapshot of the April 25 event. Photo: Courtesy of Benjamin White
Richmond officials won't say whether a temporary public art experiment under the Manchester Bridge has a future — but organizers say the city wants it taken down.
Why it matters: Richmond asked artists to test whether a dedicated public art park could work. And while organizers say they delivered, the city hasn't decided what comes next.
State of play: This past fall, city officials recommended the Little Giant Society — the group behind the proposed park — test the concept on a smaller scale first.
- They did on April 25, transforming the unused stretch beneath the bridge into an open-air art space with 500-pound rotating murals, thanks to a special permit from Parks & Recreation and about $16,000 in fundraising.
- The event even got Mayor Avula out to paint, Ian Hess, the nonprofit's president, tells Axios.
- And according to Hess, who says Avula put his signature on one of the murals, the mayor personally told him he'd call members within his administration to discuss making the project permanent.
The mayor's office didn't confirm or deny Hess' account.
- "If we want to build a project like this, in this specific location, it will require aligning a lot of different pieces and stakeholders," Avula said in a statement to Axios.
- "It's definitely worth exploring — if not this location, [then] somewhere else in the city."
Friction point: The permit only covered the one-day event, and required the park to be taken down that same day.
- Weeks later, the murals remain standing — which Hess attributed to logistical challenges and weather.
- But Hess emphasized the group is "not battling the city" and still hopes to work together to make the project permanent.
Zoom out: Supporters say the park could turn city-owned land into a tourist attraction and year-round showcase for Richmond artists.
- Hess says the roughly $500,000 proposal has been caught between overlapping agencies and unresolved questions over site control, maintenance, liability and graffiti.
- City agencies didn't respond to Axios' requests for comment.
Meanwhile in Petersburg: City officials tell Axios they're planning a similar art walk beneath the MLK Jr. Bridge, which is estimated to take 6 months to create and cost $300,000-$350,000. A private developer would cover most of the cost.
- "The city sees it as a win-win for the entire community," Petersburg councilman W. Howard Myers, who has helped shepherd the project, tells Axios.
- Dave McCormack, the Petersburg project's developer, noted that "we don't have a lot of bureaucracy to overcome."
- "It's really just implementation and funding."
What's next: Hess said organizers plan to reuse some of the temporary walls for future public events and donate at least one mural piece to the city "as a token of good faith."
