Editing Paducah, Kentucky (section)

=== Art ===
==== Murals ====
[[File:Paducah Flood Wall.jpg|thumb|Paducah Flood Wall]]
In 1996, the Paducah Wall to Wall [[mural]] program was begun by the [[Louisiana]] mural artist [[Robert Dafford]] and his team on the floodwall in downtown Paducah.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Paducah Wall to Wall-Paintings of Paducahs Past|page=[https://archive.org/details/paducahwalltowal0000unse/page/5 5]|publisher=Image Graphics Inc.|year=2008|isbn=978-0-9644699-9-0|url=https://archive.org/details/paducahwalltowal0000unse/page/5}}</ref> They have painted more than 50 murals addressing numerous subjects, including [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American history]],<ref name=SIXPANELS>{{Cite news|author=Molly Harper|title=Six panels to conclude 10-year painting project|date=January 22, 2005|work=The Paducah Sun}}</ref> industries such as river [[barge]]s<ref name=SIXPANELS/> and hospitals,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Wind unveils Western Baptist's floodwall mural half-hour early|author=Andrew Parker|work=The Paducah Sun|date=June 13, 2004}}</ref> local African-American heritage,<ref name=WALLTOWALL/> the historic [[Carnegie Library]] on Broadway Street,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Snow-covered library mural a warm memory for backers|author=Jimmy Nesbitt|date=October 31, 2004|work=The Paducah Sun}}</ref> [[Paddle steamer|steamboats]],<ref name=WALLTOWALL>{{cite web|url=http://www.aboutpaducah.com/articles/paducah-wall-wall.html|title=Paducah Wall to Wall-Paducah's History on Floodwall Murals|access-date =March 31, 2010}}</ref> and local labor unions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wkyafl-cio.org/WKYWorker10-2004.htm |title=The Western Kentucky Worker-Labor floodwall mural dedicated in ceremony |access-date=March 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202065042/http://wkyafl-cio.org/WKYWorker10-2004.htm |archive-date=December 2, 2010 }}</ref>

In May 2003, photographer Jim Roshan documented the painting of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] mural during the [[America 24/7]] project. One of the images was used in the book ''Kentucky24/7'', published in 2004.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kentucky 24/7|author1=[[Rick Smolan]]|author2=[[David Elliot Cohen]]|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|date=September 27, 2004|page=71|isbn=0-7566-0057-X}}</ref>

By 2008 the mural project was completed and being maintained. Muralist [[Herb Roe]] returned to the city each year to repaint and refurbish the panels.<ref name=SMALLTOWN>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluefrogdesigns.com/clients/paducaharts/200910.html |title=Small Town's Story Transforms Drab Walls into Art |access-date=March 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708073608/http://www.bluefrogdesigns.com/clients/paducaharts/200910.html |archive-date=July 8, 2011 }}</ref> Roe is the only muralist associated with the project to have worked on all of the panels.<ref name=KYLIVING>{{cite web|url=http://kentuckyliving.coop/article.asp?articleid=1560&issueid=261|title=Floodwall Murals Color Our Cities|author=Kathy Witt|work=Kentucky Living|access-date=March 24, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718162118/http://kentuckyliving.coop/article.asp?articleid=1560&issueid=261|archive-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> Roe added a new mural to the project in the summer of 2010. It shows the 100-year history of the local [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scout]] troop, Troop 1.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Muralist to paint 100 years of Paducah Scouts|first=Shelley|last= Byrne|work=The Paducah Sun|date=July 3, 2010|url=http://www.paducahsun.com/local-news/todays-news/426134-muralist-to-paint-100-years-of-paducah-scouts}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Painting begins for mural honoring local boy scouts |first=Michael |last=Vick |date=July 12, 2010 |url=http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Painting-begins-for-mural-honoring-local-boy-scouts--98277999.html |access-date=October 8, 2010 |publisher=[[WPSD-TV]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718121903/http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Painting-begins-for-mural-honoring-local-boy-scouts--98277999.html |archive-date=July 18, 2011 }}</ref> Troop 1 is one of only a handful of troops who share their centennial with that of the national scouting organization itself. The dedication for the mural was held on National Scout Sunday, February 6, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westkentuckystar.com/News/Local---Regional/McCracken-County/Troop-1-Celebrates-100-Years-Today|title=Troop 1 Celebrates 100 Years Today|access-date=February 6, 2011|publisher=West Kentucky Star}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2017, artist Char Downs debuted the newest addition to the Wall to Wall mural program: a series of murals of award-winning quilts on the floodwall facing Park Street. Downs invested nearly 500 hours recreating Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry's historic award-winning quilt Corona II: Solar Eclipse—the first quilt in the series—in her studio in Paducah's Lower Town Arts District.

The Paducah Art Alliance has a program of Artist in Residencies to bring respected artists in to the city. In 2018 British Artist [[Denimu|Ian Berry]] came and put on an exhibition to great acclaim. Ian is famed around the world with his art in denim, and fitted in with the textile art that Paducah is known for.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://cityofpaducah.com/people/artists/ian-berry-textile-artist/|title=Ian Berry – Textile Artist – #PartakeInPaducah|date=April 17, 2018|work=Partake in Paducah|access-date=June 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paducahartsalliance.com/artist-in-residence/ian-berry/|title=AQS & PAA team up for creative collaboration with "Master of Denim" artist from United Kingdom {{!}} Paducah Arts Alliance|website=www.paducahartsalliance.com|language=en-US|access-date=June 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2018/04/18/artists-work-denim-stands-quilting-crowd/|title=Artist's work with denim stands out in quilting crowd|date=April 18, 2018|work=WPSD Local 6 – Your News, Weather, & Sports Authority|access-date=June 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/british-artist-found-his-best-fit-in-denim/article_d60dea11-ca6f-51fd-a12e-77e451a7fba1.html|title=British artist found his best fit in denim|last=Black|first=Laurel|work=The Paducah Sun|access-date=June 29, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

==== Lower Town Artist Relocation Program ====
In August 2000, Paducah's Artist Relocation Program was started to offer incentives for artists to relocate to its historic downtown and Lower Town areas. The program has become a national model for using the arts for [[economic development]]. It has received the Governors Award in the Arts, the Distinguished Planning Award from the Kentucky Chapter of the [[American Planning Association]], the [[American Planning Association]]'s National Planning Award, and most recently, the Kentucky League of Cities' Enterprise Cities Award.

Lower Town, home of the Artist Relocation Program, is the oldest neighborhood in Paducah. As retail commerce moved toward the outskirts of the city, efforts were made to preserve the architectural character, and historic [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] structures were restored in the older parts of the city. The artists' housing program contributed to that effort and became a catalyst for revitalizing the downtown area. The Luther F. Carson Center for the Performing Arts was completed in downtown Paducah in 2004.<ref name="LFCC">{{Cite web|title = Luther F Carson Center for the Performing Arts {{!}} History|url = https://thecarsoncenter.org/history|website = thecarsoncenter.org|access-date = December 24, 2015}}</ref>

==== UNESCO Creative City ====
On November 21, 2013, Paducah was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ([[UNESCO]]) as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art.{{r|NPR 2022-04-29}} Arts and cultural initiatives have included the Lower Town Artist Relocation program, the National Quilt Museum, Paducah "Wall to Wall" floodwall murals, and the Paducah School of Art and Design.  Participation in the program has been criticized by local business owners and by Paducah's economic development council due to the financial cost to the city, and because the "UNESCO Creative Cities Network only benefits a small portion of Paducah's economy".<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Capps | first1 = Thomas | last2 = Spissinger | first2 = Mike | date = July 30, 2018 | title = Is UNESCO Membership Worth the Cost for Paducah? | url = https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2018/07/30/is-unesco-membership-worth-the-cost-for-paducah/ | work = WPSD Local 6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1 = Capps | first1 = Thomas | last2 = Jones | first2 = Justin | date = August 1, 2018 | title = Paducah Business Owners, Leaders Weigh in on UNESCO | url = https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2018/08/01/paducah-business-owners-leaders-weigh-in-on-unesco/ | work = WPSD Local 6}}</ref>