International Creative Placemaking Expert
ABOUT
Kady Yellow has been activating public spaces since 2010, when she first discovered the power of collaboration among governments, communities, and the cultural sector to create vibrant, people-centered cities. She holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Design from Binghamton University (BU).
Born and raised in Binghamton, NY, Kady overcame early adversity to become the city’s youngest Commissioner for Downtown Development and co-founder of the Department of Public Art. As a mayoral appointee to the Public Art Advisory Board, she helped bring the global mural movement to Broome County, leading to the creation of iDistrict Murals & Mosaics, a formal economic development zone. She also led the city’s $1 million Bloomberg Public Art Challenge grant under Mayor Rich David and later helped establish its first Director of Placemaking position.
In 2016, her work earned her an invitation to keynote the Global Mural Conference and a residency at Alaska’s Bunnell Street Arts Center, where she launched Peonies on Pioneer—Homer’s first creative placemaking initiative celebrating the town’s peony industry and Main Street culture. While in Alaska, she also trained government staff and arts administrators for the City of Anchorage on artist collaboration in public space design.
Kady went on to earn her Master’s in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans (2018), supported by a full Teaching Assistantship. She completed fieldwork in Western Ireland, worked with the Galway International Arts Festival ahead of its European Capital of Culture 2020 designation, and joined the organizing team for the Lisbon Street Art and Urban Creativity International Conference in Portugal.
After publishing her first book on creative placemaking in 2019, Kady became the first Director of Placemaking for Flint, Michigan, where she developed the nationally recognized Pop-Up Civics model to engage residents in urban planning. Her work has since been replicated in Raleigh, Pittsburgh, Akron, Austin, Long Beach, and other U.S. cities. In 2022, she hosted Placemaking Week Michigan, bringing together leaders from Project for Public Spaces, the Brookings Institution, and PlacemakingUS alongside 25 top practitioners.
Her work has been supported by the American Planning Association, American Institute of Architects, Carriage Town Historic Association, and Flint Public Art Project. She is an NEA Creative Placemaking grantee, an international keynote speaker for RAUM (Netherlands), and producer of the global event series Placemaking Week.
Since January 2022, Kady has served as Vice President of Placemaking for Jacksonville’s Business Improvement District, where she empowers residents to reclaim public spaces and engage in civic life. She also teaches with the International Downtown Association and Project for Public Spaces, and has guest lectured at the University of Florida, Nova Southeastern University, and UNC Charlotte.
Public Art Initiatives ​
Porch Fest
Porch Fest events are held across the United States to bring communities together. Specifically, the work being done in my hometown Binghamton NY by Chris Bodnarczeck and in Flint by Megan Heyza of the Porch Project was the core inspiration. During a Porch
Fest, local musicians play concerts on front porches highlighting their music and bringing the
neighborhood together. Recently, as Director of the What’s Up Downtown Project, we worked with Flint residents to
coordinate a Porch Fest event in the Carriage Town Neighborhood. The event featured local
musicians, yoga classes taught by local instructors, personalized poetry written for event participants
by local poets, art installations on abandoned houses, locally crafted food, and much more.
We worked with Carriage Town residents to highlight the unique
character of their neighborhood. After two months of planning the event came to life, boasting nearly
200 participants and 24 creatives (i.e., artists, musicians, yoga instructors, poets).
Porch Fest events provide an opportunity for community groups to re-engage with other another
safely. Funds from this proposal will be used to implement Porch Fest events throughout the City of
Flint in a minimum of five neighborhoods.
