During the annual awards ceremony of the Georgia Downtown Conference, the Georgia Downtown Association recognized the City of Thomasville and Thomasville Center for the Arts with an Award of Excellence for the Best Placemaking Project, recognizing the project “FLAUNT 2022: Let's Play!”
Thomasville Center for the Arts encourages artistic expression and purposeful creativity to connect people to one another. As the creative hub for the downtown Thomasville community, they bring together more than 85,000 youth and adults annually through arts education and artistic experiences.
Conceived 10 years ago to connect generations, inspire community and expose visitors to new ways of thinking and seeing, FLAUNT is a temporary public art explosion led by Thomasville Center for the Arts, that inks the walls, windows, and alleyways of downtown Thomasville. Fueled by the imaginations of local and regional artists, each FLAUNT exhibition takes on a new persona, and in turn, brings fresh new life to historic facades.
Thomasville Center for the Arts has been pushing creativity with outstanding and interactive public art experiences for more than a decade. FLAUNT 2022: Let’s Play!, in partnership with 1915 South | Ashley, took imagination to the next level with larger-than-life, Monopoly-inspired art installations throughout the creative district of the downtown core.
Darlene Crosby Taylor, Public Art Director for Thomasville Center for the Arts, shared, “The installations were created by over 100 artists, makers, and designers from across the region, giving opportunities for local artists to showcase their talents.”
The interactive public art installation was held for six weeks downtown between March 3 and April 14, 2022.
Featuring eight public art exhibitions scattered throughout the downtown Thomasville Creative District, FLAUNT 2022: Let’s Play! also included interactive game stations, live mural painting, playful photo opportunities and the unveiling of THOMOPOLY, Thomasville Center for the Art’s own version of the popular Monopoly board game.
“We had 16 corporate sponsors, 37 retailers, 25 non-profits, and 5 creatives, for FLAUNT2022: Let’s Play!, promoting the local resources contributing to Thomasville’s economic vitality,” said Taylor.
City of Thomasville Main Street was a key partner in the execution and placemaking development of this creative experience, sponsoring the key piece to playing the game: the dice.
City of Thomasville Managing Director of Marketing and Communications April Norton added, “This creative placemaking project showcased the energy and ideas brewing in our neighborhoods, bringing awareness to the good works of Thomasville.”
Inspired by the goodness of a small town, THOMOPOLY was designed by the passionate spirits who work together every day to creatively connect our community. THOMOPOLY promotes the local resources contributing to Thomasville’s economic and cultural vitality.
Norton added, “Thomasville is truly fortunate to have an arts organization like Thomasville Center for the Arts who express their creative visions in Downtown Thomasville like FLAUNT 2022: Let’s Play! that encouraged the players to make themselves at home, invest in our community, and make a difference.”
Thomasville Center for the Arts is a key partner with the City of Thomasville in activating our downtown with creative and cultural art experiences, encouraging placemaking initiatives quarterly. The partnership created and developed between Thomasville Center for the Arts and the City of Thomasville Main Street Office is one that exemplifies how together is better.
About the Georgia Downtown Association: Based in Atlanta, the Georgia Downtown Association is a non-profit association that promotes the economic redevelopment of Georgia’s downtowns through public awareness, governmental relations, and education.