Co-Creation and Participatory Design in Public Art: Uncovering Community Narratives
Over the last year, I’ve worked with partner, Pitt County Arts Council (PCAC) to plan and design an arts-based community project for the community of Uptown Greenville.
This project marked my first large-scale design intervention and installation since joining East Carolina University and relocating to Eastern North Carolina. The work was made possible through support from ECU’s Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy (EOSA).
The project explores how arts-based design interventions can support economic, cultural, and community development by strengthening a community’s sense of place. Specifically, it asks how design can contribute to shared community narratives through activity-based programming, cultural and historical context, and social interaction in public space.
Grounded in community-based practices and using equity- and justice-centered frameworks, this project emphasizes participation and co-authorship throughout the process—not only in early conversations, but in the making and evolution of the work itself. Community members are positioned as co-creators, shaping both the form and meaning of the intervention.
Participants included local residents, ECU students, business owners, city partners, and visitors—reflecting the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of Uptown Greenville.
In November, we hosted a community focus group to share early ideas, gather feedback, and open dialogue around what an arts-based intervention in Uptown might become. My research team and I analyzed this feedback and presented a summary of insights and recommendations to PCAC in February.
Design Direction
Community conversations made it clear that the project needed to be more than a finished artwork. Participants consistently emphasized interaction, play, and ongoing involvement, imagining an intervention that could evolve with the community rather than remain fixed in place. There was a strong desire to avoid a one-time experience and instead create something that invited repeated engagement.
Interactivity emerged as central to this vision. Participants described an experience that would be physical, tactile, and accessible to all ages. Ideas ranged from playful, hashtag-able moments and photo opportunities to more immersive elements like swings and movable components. The goal was not spectacle, but active participation, where visitors become contributors rather than spectators.
At the same time, participants were clear that playfulness alone was not enough. The intervention needed to carry Greenville’s story, grounding fun and experimentation in local narratives and shared identity. Rather than presenting a single, fixed version of that story, the emphasis was on creating space for multiple voices to surface through on-site making and collective authorship.
In response, the design direction coalesced around a participatory, hands-on experience centered on making and shared authorship. Physical engagement—painting, gathering, documenting, and revisiting—became the primary means through which meaning would be created.
Design Direction
Community conversations made it clear that the project needed to be more than a finished artwork. Participants consistently emphasized interaction, play, and ongoing involvement, imagining an intervention that could evolve with the community rather than remain fixed in place. There was a strong desire to avoid a one-time experience and instead create something that invited repeated engagement.
Interactivity emerged as central to this vision. Participants described an experience that would be physical, tactile, and accessible to all ages. Ideas ranged from playful, hashtag-able moments and photo opportunities to more immersive elements like swings and movable components. The goal was not spectacle, but active participation, where visitors become contributors rather than spectators.
At the same time, participants were clear that playfulness alone was not enough. The intervention needed to carry Greenville’s story, grounding fun and experimentation in local narratives and shared identity. Rather than presenting a single, fixed version of that story, the emphasis was on creating space for multiple voices to surface through on-site making and collective authorship.
In response, the design direction coalesced around a participatory, hands-on experience centered on making and shared authorship. Physical engagement—painting, gathering, documenting, and revisiting—became the primary means through which meaning would be created.
Current Status & Next Steps
The proposed design direction is currently under review. While the project was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, the pause reinforced the importance of approaching implementation as a live, relational process rather than a final endpoint.
We are hopeful the project will move forward with a participatory rollout aligned with Uptown Greenville’s First Friday programming. Updates will be shared as plans continue to develop.