The Placemaking Creative Pool

Creative Pool

Street mural created by Anastasia Netrebine for the City of Charlotte Shared Streets program in 2020.

The Charlotte Urban Design Center launched the Creative Pool as a resource and database matching local professional creatives with placemaking project opportunities around the city. Creatives selected from the pool are pre-approved by the UDC, allowing them to be commissioned to produce original works that range in scale and scope and/or collaborate with the city to provide design or management services for art elements.


Frequently Asked Questions

How the Creative Pool Works

The Charlotte Urban Design Center manages or supports many community and city-led placemaking projects each year. When creative services are needed, the project manager (whether that is a community organization, Placemaking Grantee, city staff person, etc.) can directly select an artist or can share the opportunity with the artist pool to gather interested artists.

The Charlotte Urban Design Center manages the Creative Pool list and opportunities but not necessarily the placemaking projects. The projects can come from other city departments or community organizations. The creative is responsible for answering solicitations and managing their agreements. Please note that inclusion in the Creative Pool does not guarantee commission but an opportunity for projects when they become available.

Who Can Apply for the Creative Pool?

The Creative Pool consists of a wide range of creatives who manage, create, and implement original compositions. This includes creatives who work in mixed media, performance, written and spoken word, video/photography, fabrication, and more. The pool also includes teams, organizations, and businesses that manage the process of implementing public space, art, and performance.

How Do I Apply for the Creative Pool?

The application window for 2026 is now closed. We'll reopen in early 2027 for the next cycle — we'd love to see your work then.

What you'll need to apply:

  • Portfolio - A selection of your recent creative work (website or pdf)
  • Resume - Your background and experience
  • Creative statement - Who you are as an artist and how you work

Want to keep up to date on UDC projects, events, and opportunities?

You may receive notifications through our quarterly newsletter email list and by following us at @clturbandesign on social media.


Creative Pool Directory

Name Creative Specialty Email Website
Andra Petre Photography; Content Creation fromandrawithlove@gmail.com Visit Website
Anna Dean Art Sculpture; Installation annagdean@gmail.com Visit Website
Beth Cox Stephens Mural bethcoxstephens@gmail.com Visit Website
BOOM Charlotte, Que-OS Creative Management Business/Organization funding@boomcharlotte.org Visit Website
Bree Stallings Mural; Installation info@breestallings.com Visit Website
Brenda Pokorny Mosaic; Immersive Projection jbpokorny@windstream.net Visit Website
Broderick Russell Jr. Film BroderickRussellJr@yahoo.com Visit Website
Charlotte Is Creative Creative Management Business/Organization Melissa@charlotteiscreative.com Visit Website
Crane Seven, Carla Nathan Visual Art; Upcycling carla@craneseven.com Visit Website
Creative Harmony Arts, Umayal Annamalai Writing and Poetry; Visual Art; Community Engagement umayal81@gmail.com Visit Website
Culture Palette, Vianey Soetanto User Experience/interface culturepaletteclt@gmail.com Visit Website
Cynthia Allison Mural theartsyhippie@gmail.com Visit Website
DAP Designz, Dominique Prescott Mural; Illustration; Graphic Design hello@dapdesignz.com Visit Website
depeña studio, Ivan Toth Depeña Sculpture; Installation; Mural; Lighting ivan@depenastudio.com Visit Website
Dyair Art, Jamil Steele Mural illustration82@yahoo.com Visit Website
Elizabeth Palmisano Mural; Sculpture; Community Engagement ella@ellafae.com Visit Website
Ernesto Brett Dennison Photography ernestobrettdennison@gmail.com Visit Website
Frank Expression Spoken Word Poetry; Musician; Event Planning frankexpression29@gmail.com Visit Website
Genius Loci Landscapes, Krista Murphy Sculpture; Landscape Design Kristamurphyrla@gmail.com Visit Website
Good Call Studios, Victoria Call Mural; Ceramics; Sculpture; Photography; Graphic Design victoriacalldesign@gmail.com Visit Website
Heather Kostell Mural; Sculpture; Visual Art hkostell@gmail.com Visit Website
Hilary Siber Edwards Mural; Sculpture hilary.siber@gmail.com Visit Website
Ingrid Swanson Mural; Sculpture ingridswanson448@gmail.com Visit Website
Isaiah Baughn Mural i.baughn2@gmail.com Visit Website
Jen Hill Pop Mural; Visual Art; Graphic Design jenhillpop@gmail.com Visit Website
Junior Designs, Junior Gomez Mural; Sculpture; Graphic Design juniordesignsart@gmail.com Visit Website
Ken Knudtsen Mural; Furniture; Graphic Design; Illustration kknudtsen@yahoo.com Visit Website
Kiser corp, Marcus Kiser Mural; Graphic Design kisercorp@gmail.com Visit Website
Kristen Murdaugh Musician kristen.murdaugh@gmail.com Visit Website
Leandro Manzo Mural; Ceramics; Visual Art manzo777@gmail.com Visit Website
Liz Haywood Mural; Visual Art; Content Creator liz@lizhaywood.com Visit Website
Mary Kamerer Visual Art marykamerer1313@gmail.com Visit Website
MB23 Creative, Malik Britton Graphic Design; Illustration mb32creative@gmail.com Visit Website
Megan Nolte Art Mural; Visual Art eclecticauracreations@gmail.com Visit Website
Monique Luck Art Mural; Furniture monique@moniqueluck.com Visit Website
Nico Amortegui Mural; Construction and Fabrication; Visual Art nicoarteamor@gmail.com Visit Website
n'studio, Nejla Amil Harris Mural; Visual Art; Content Creator nejlaharris@gmail.com Visit Website
OnceMperors Studios, Wolly McNair Mural; Illustration; Visual Art wordz1st@gmail.com Visit Website
Osiris Rain Mural; Sculpture; Visual Art osirisrain@gmail.com Visit Website
Paulo Costales Mural; Photography; Graphic Design hi@paulocostales.com Visit Website
Pixel Pushas, Denzel Fleming Photography; Videography; Graphic Design; Content Creation whoisdenzel@gmail.com Visit Website
Point A Studio, Amalia Deloney Creative Management Business/Organization amalia@point-a.studio Visit Website
Potions and Pixels, Michael Zytkow Construction and Fabrication; Lighitng; Graphic Design; Installation michael.zytkow@potionsandpixels.com Visit Website
QC Family Tree, Helms Jarrell Creative Management Business/Organization helms@qcfamilytree.org Visit Website
Rangolia, Renu Singh Mural; Sculpture; Graphic Design therangolia@gmail.com Visit Website
Rasta Royalties, Troy Roberts Visual Art rastaroyalties@gmail.com Visit Website
RBA + MEND Studio, Michael Dunning & Aleksandra Borisenko Creative Management Business/Organization mdunning@therbagroup.com Visit Website
Rebecca Lipps Mural; Visual Art; Projection Installation; Sculpture rebeccalippsart@gmail.com Visit Website
S Dot James, Steve Morris Mural; User Experience/interface sdotjames7@gmail.com Visit Website
Sharon Dowell Mural; Sculpture sharondowell@gmail.com Visit Website
Sheree Davidson Mural artsbysheree@gmail.com Visit Website
Swych, Reid Bramhall Mural; Visual Art; Graphic Design swych19@gmail.com Visit Website
The Left Brained Artist, Pam Imhof Mural; Sculpture; Fiber Art imhofp88@gmail.com Visit Website
Tiya Caniel Maynard Mural tiyacaniel@gmail.com Visit Website

Do You Have Questions About the Creative Pool?

Ria Naab, Placemaking Community Associate