North Omaha Trail
PUBLIC ARTWORK SELECTION PROCESS
An urban development project led by Spark CDI’s Fabric Lab initiative, The North Omaha Trail provides a critical transportation, economic, recreational, and public health link that connects several North Omaha neighborhood anchors including the North Omaha transit station at 30th & Ames, the Kennedy Square redevelopment, the 24th & Lake Historic District.
The Trail represents a substantive investment in public health infrastructure and a catalyst for community development. The Trail offers multiple sites along its route for public artwork integrations that foster cultural engagement, learning, environmental stewardship, and community-informed storytelling. In short, the Trail creates opportunities to enhance quality of life; art, history, and culture; health and mobility; and community development.
Amplify partnered with Spark to open a call for public art projects on the Trail that center the relationship between clean air and community well-being. The open call process resulted in the selection mural proposals by artist Gerard Pefung and artist duo Jennifer Young and Eduardo Gardea.
Installation Images
About the Artists
Gerard Pefung studied painting at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and draws inspiration upon the repetitive shapes and forms of the urban landscape. His work has often been large in scale and elephant-themed. He works mainly with spray-paint, mixed media, found and repurposed objects. Gerard uses painting as a way to connect, showcase, educate and explore ideas with others. His current work examines consumerism and its impact on the local ecosystem and wildlife.
Eduardo Gardea’s work bridges personal memory, cultural identity, and collective experience. Born in Texas and raised in Nebraska, Gardea’s self-taught, multidisciplinary practice is rooted in both contemporary art foundations and an intuitive connection to the conscious and unconscious mind. His creative process often emerges from a place of inner necessity—what he feels deeply and needs to express and at times has yet to fully articulate. Through painting, sculpture, and mural work, he explores themes of struggle, endurance, and transformation, creating work that invites a shared emotional and visual dialogue.
Jennifer Young believes that creativity is meant for everyone. She is an artisan and founder of J.Diane Creations, a creative events company. She specializes in art, handmade crafts, and DIY workshops. She is passionate about enhancing the lives of others through creativity and spreading kindness to build others up. Jennifer is originally from Omaha, NE and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.