meetNKY, the Northern Kentucky Visitors Bureau and ArtsWave, a Cincinnati-based promoter of regional art, have appointed Rachael Parker as the new Director of Northern Kentucky Creative Placemaking for ArtsWave.
The new position will focus on elevating collaboration between the two organizations to enhance Northern Kentucky’s profile as a hub for public artworks and projects, as well as deepen ArtsWave’s impact in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties. Parker will be the liaison between ArtsWave and meetNKY.
In her new role, Parker will help design a new mural for the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. She’ll collaborate with Brooklyn-based artist Maya Hayuk on a design that will celebrate Northern Kentucky’s eclectic culture and history, incorporating elements of the area’s rich artistic traditions. Work is set to begin on the mural this summer and was curated by BLDG.
“As an artist, arts advocate, and proud Kentuckian, it is a dream come true to begin my work in this new role at ArtsWave,” Parker said in a press release. “Being selected for this new role to help bring more public artworks to the Northern Kentucky communities is such an honor. I’m over the moon to have the opportunity to serve as a bridge to the incredible talent pool ArtsWave has access to and partners in our region dedicated to creative placemaking. This new initiative will help us continue to solidify this region as a major destination for the arts.”
The Maysville native said she looks forward to the opportunity to deepen connections and collaboratively build a vision for leveraging arts and culture through inclusive and thriving spaces in Northern Kentucky.
“This is such an exciting opportunity for our Northern Kentucky communities,” Julie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO meetNKY, said in release. “Creative placemaking projects not only boost our region’s appeal as a destination for meetings, conventions and tourists, it also instills pride in our residents. This partnership provides us with a direct line to ArtsWave’s vast capabilities and networks and ties the Northern Kentucky communities more closely to the region’s arts ecosystem.”
Parker comes to ArtsWave from her recent role as program manager with Learning Through Art, Inc. There, she designed, developed and implemented performing arts-integrated education, literacy, community development and engagement programs.
Prior to that role, she was the founding academic and program director of the Cincinnati Squash Academy and served as a teacher for AmeriCorps with the inaugural cohort for Teach For America in Southwest Ohio.
“This new initiative and partnership with Meet NKY directly advances ArtsWave’s goals to enliven neighborhoods through the arts and increase economic and social vibrancy with ever-more arts activity,” said Alecia Kintner, president and CEO of ArtsWave. “We’re grateful to the many partners who are supporting this visionary project and look forward to seeing Rachael’s impact as she works closely with Northern Kentucky’s artists and organizers.”