City of Roanoke Resident Artist Program Spotlight: Southeast Neighborhood

The City of Roanoke began an artists-in-residence program in 2022 to integrate the arts in advancing the comprehensive City Plan 2040.

In 2024-2025, the City of Roanoke launched a Resident Artist Program that centered on three major initiatives: Daisy Art Neighborhood Activations, Arts Connect Neighbors Catalog, and City of Roanoke Public Art Program. The program revolves around five focus neighborhoods: Melrose Plaza, 11th Street NW, West End, Gainsboro, and 9^th Street SE. In their role, Resident Artists focus on arts-based neighborhood development by providing art instruction and organizing events, and other activities.

This spotlight features the Southeast Neighborhood Activation, led by Resident Artist Molly Kernan. The works shown here were created between 2024-2026 by Kernan in collaboration with the Southeast community. Kernan states that love is the throughline of her work with her neighbors. Nature is a frequent theme in these collaborative works, reflecting Southeast’s natural setting.

The Resident Artist Program is funded by the City of Roanoke with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.