Wayne County Cultural Atlas to reveal cultural trail, marker during community event
Wayne County Cultural Atlas welcomes the community to celebrate the start of summer during the ALL-IN Block Party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 7. The ALL-IN Block Party is a free event and will be held on 10th Street, between E. Main and Sailor streets in downtown Richmond.

Funded by an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Wayne County Cultural Atlas is a collaborative, community-driven planning project. A team of community leaders has been working with the public to identify and highlight cultural points of pride and potential.

These select locations, and the personal stories gathered about them, are part of a mapping and public art project that helps residents and visitors better enjoy and appreciate the rich culture — past, present, and future — of Wayne County.  The grant for the cultural trail was awarded to Indiana University East, the City of Richmond and the Richmond Art Museum (RAM).

Jessica Raposo, assistant professor of music at IU East, is coordinating the grant and serves as the project director.

“Those of us living here know how many hidden gems Wayne County holds. The Wayne County Cultural Atlas wants to bring them all together in one collaborative, findable place. We’re doing that through our plans for a cultural trail, but while we work on that, we want this block party to be a way to celebrate Wayne County by bringing us all together and enjoying our shared community,” Raposo said.

The ALL-IN Block Party will help members of the community to connect with each other and to help make Wayne County an even better place to live. As part of the block party, the community is encouraged to complete fun activities while learning about Wayne County.

Upon arrival, all participants will receive a scorecard. Participants can visit the tables of participating Wayne County organizations and businesses to complete the ALL-IN challenges and activities and mark them off the scorecard. ALL-IN is an initiative by Indiana Humanities that inspires Hoosiers to learn more about Indiana, connect with each other and make our state even better.

Then, participants can enter their completed card for a prize drawing at the end of the block party.

Also during the block party, Wayne County Cultural Atlas will display the Cultural Trail and a prototype of the marker that will be used along the trail.

“RAM (Richmond Art Museum) is pleased to be just one of the many organizations partnering with the Wayne County Cultural Atlas to celebrate our cultural heritage. A heritage that brought the first recordings of Jazz, the first projection of film, the first high school orchestra and the only public art museum to be housed in a high school in the nation,” said Richmond Art Museum Executive Director Shaun Dingwerth. “The block party will provide inspiring subject matter and expose a non-traditional art/cultural audience to the numerous civic and cultural organizations in our community. Actively engaging the audience through interaction and participatory activities will provide a better understanding of the arts and why they are important to our culture.”

To learn more about the Wayne County Cultural Atlas, visit culturalatlas.org.

ALL-IN Block Party Participating Organizations:
Amigos
Center City Development
Centerville Public Library
Cope Environmental Center
Downtown Business Group
Hagerstown Museum and Arts Place/Nettle Creek Players
Hayes Arboretum
Historic Centerville
Huddleston House
Indiana National Road Association
IU East Library
IU East Center for Service Learning
Joseph Moore Museum
Levi Coffin House
Model T Museum
Morrisson-Reeves Library
Richmond Art Museum
Richmond Shakespeare Festival
Richmond Symphony Orchestra
Starr-Gennett Foundation
Townsend Center
The Two Sisters
Veach’s Toy Station
Wayne County Genealogical Society
Wayne County Historical Museum

About Wayne County Cultural Atlas
Funded by an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Wayne County Cultural Atlas is a collaborative, community-driven planning project. A team of community leaders has been working with the public to identify and highlight cultural points of pride and potential. These select locations and personal stories gathered with them are part of a mapping and public art project that helps residents and visitors better enjoy and appreciate the rich culture — past, present, and future — of Wayne County.

About ALL-IN
Indiana Humanities initiative that inspires Hoosiers to learn more about Indiana, connect with each other and make our state even better. ALL-IN is a digital competition that challenges Hoosiers to think, read, talk and do.

About Indiana Bicentennial Commission Legacy Project
The Indiana Bicentennial Commission Legacy Project event, one of several official events to be hosted across the state to celebrate the past and present of the state. ALL-IN is an Indiana Humanities initiative that inspires Hoosiers to learn more about Indiana, connect with each other and make our state even better.