Art therapy breathes life into Downtown alleyways
Volunteers are taking over the alleyways to help clean up and beautify Downtown Albuquerque.
Victoria Vandame, the executive director of the art therapy center OT Circus, has partnered with Albuquerque’s Downtown Mainstreet to “Activate the Alleyways.”
Vandame and other volunteers power-washed and cleaned up several alleyways between Third and Fourth streets. The goal is to increase traffic to local businesses and to transform the area into a safer, more walkable place.
Artists are continuing work on the pilot project Saturday as sort of a live showcase in the 300 block of Central. Volunteers are needed from 7 to 10 a.m. to help clean up additional alleyways before the artists get started.
“My goal is to keep Downtown Albuquerque exactly the way it is and just really beautify it a bit,” Vandame said. KKOB will discuss the effort as part of “The Good News Files” feature.
The project has been done in larger cities like Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, and piggybacks on Paint for Peace, the project done during the pandemic to beautify Central’s boarded-up windows. The project will wrap up Aug. 21 with work ongoing over the next few weeks. Mainstreet is funding it.
“The Good News Files” is a collaboration between the Albuquerque Journal, 96.3 News Radio KKOB and KOAT-TV. The stories highlight good news stories in the community.