Public Art Projects
Poetry on the Streets, LLC
Melanie Faranello is the founder of the acclaimed public art project, Poetry on the Streets (POTS), which she created in 2017. The mission of POTS is to engage communities in creative self-expression, bring people's words to public spaces, and connect through sharing the voices and stories of people from many walks of life.
She was chosen as a Creative Community Fellow with National Arts Strategies for the 2019 New England Cohort, and named one of "14 community organizers who create equity in the face of inequity," by The Pollination Project awarding grants globally in support of leaders to promote social change.
Interview with NPR, Where We Live! https://omny.fm/shows/where-we-live/universal-basic-income-might-be-coming-to-hartford?t=38m30s
Interview with NPR, All Things Considered! https://www.wnpr.org/post/hartfords-poetry-bus-moving-piece-public-art
Article in Hartford Business Magazine https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/downtown-hartford-retail-space-on-allyn-st-to-launch-art-project
Interview by Greater Hartford Arts Council: https://letsgoarts.org/improving-state-of-mind-an-interview-with-poetry-on-the-streets/
Grant from Pollination Project, based in Berkeley, CA: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/melanie-faranello-poetry-on-the-streets/
Poetry on Public Murals, Fall 2021
The Poetry Bus, Spring 2021
Essential Voices from the Pandemic, 2020
Gallery Show: POTS, 2020
