The Greater Augusta Arts Council and the Lucy Craft Laney Museum are thrilled to announce that the application for The Golden Blocks Project Phase 2 is open immediately for applications. This project is made possible by a collaboration between the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black  History, the Greater Augusta Arts Council, and the City of Augusta Department of Housing and Community Development, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Golden Blocks Project will partner two (2) artists with the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of  Black History staff to creatively bring the knowledge housed within the Museum into public  spaces in Augusta, Georgia’s Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods. The project  sponsors envisions creative projects that strengthen the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem  communities through work created in public space.

The selected artists may utilize visual art, performance, and/or word-craft to create their work.  To be eligible, any interested artist 18 years old or older must visit the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History to understand its mission and resources, and to familiarize themselves with the surrounding area. Selected artists will receive a $7,000 stipend.

This endeavor is named the “Golden Blocks Project,” in reference to the historic nickname of the neighborhoods around Laney Walker Boulevard. The project will create new public art that references the historical and cultural significance of these areas.

During the time of segregation, the area nicknamed the Golden Blocks was the heart of Augusta,  Georgia’s black business community. Federal “Red Line” policies prevented citizens from  receiving bank mortgages within certain areas that were predominately non-white populations,  and businesses elsewhere in the city were legally allowed to discriminate against black patrons  due to Jim Crow era laws. In the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods, black-owned  banks, insurance companies, theaters and other businesses worked to offset this discrimination  and thrived, creating a strong sense of community. Phase 2 of the Golden Blocks Public Art Project will focus on the schools that could be found in the communities during the late 19th and early 20thcenturies.