Why do an alien Carlos Colonel Sanders and graffiti have in common?

They're all part of a vibrant public art scene in Covington, this northern Kentucky river town has become a national model for the power of creative placemaking.

Our friends at Kentucky Life went to Covington to check it out.

Covington, Kentucky, A sleepy river town in the shadow of Cincinnati.

Or how about the best kept secret in public art since the Trojan horse?

From internationally recognized murals to a friendly 30 foot alien to a flood wall graffiti party Covington's public art scene is out of this world.

We had this amazing historic architecture.

We had these beautiful murals on top of some of these buildings.

It's something that gives us a sense of identity and a sense of community pride.

As you travel around and look at the different murals and installations and sculptures here in Covington.

You'll find it's a little funky and maybe left of center.

This is a place where people can express themselves in many, many different ways.

Be that through murals, street art, sculpture, you name it, and we've got it.

It seems like public art is everywhere in Covington, and that's not by chance.

A combination of civic leaders and local artists have embraced the concept of creative placemaking.

Created placemaking is simple in its description.

It's taking a physical space and making art one of the identifiers of the area.

When you see an art installation, whether it's a mural, whether it's something done with lighting, you know that people are paying attention to that environment.

And there are eyes on that place and eyes on a place.

Make a place safe.

One of the first public art installations I did was to install these six chandeliers in an underpass.

So I got a grant to put some art in an underpass and also elevate the lighting.

If chandeliers are good for a dingy underpass, how about a muffler shop?

What's the ball is rolling.

It really picks up speed.

And one of the major effects of public art is economic development.

The impact of public art on economic development is kind of misunderstood, but should not be underestimated.

As creatives, we love living here because we live in a community that supports the arts and it's going to attract more creatives.

It's going to attract more entrepreneurs, more business.

Jobs, follow people now as opposed to in the past, when people follow jobs.

So they want to go where the talent is.

And if we can attract that talent, then we can attract those jobs.

In addition to attracting jobs.

Public art can have a dramatic impact on tourism.

An amazing example of this is Blake, the largest light and public art festival in the country.

So Blink started in 2017, right here in the Cincinnati region, attracting almost 2 million people, and the economic impact is over 126 million in the last blink.

High profile public art is nothing new to Covington.

The London police created this magnificent work at the corner of Fourth and Scott Streets, and the Brooklyn Collective, known as Faile, is responsible for an amazing triptych that has become a centerpiece of downtown.

We also have local artists who are in the same gallery, if you will.

We have a two story alien and three dimensional alien hanging out of a parking garage and we have a stained glass bench that represents all 19 neighborhoods of the city of Covington.

And then there's Scribble Park, a graffiti park on the flood wall that's becoming a hotspot for Covington's up and coming artist.

It's a unique gallery that welcomes everyone.

These are folks that may never get an opportunity to be exhibited at the Cincinnati Art Museum, but we're giving them an opportunity.

And it's great for the public, too, because when they come down, it's constantly changing.

They feel like I'm home in a community with public art.

I feel like I am in a place that accepts who I am and accepts who my creative friends are.

And that's a beautiful thing.

I mean, artists can be misfits and wildly creative and quirky.

But Covington is that also We're creative and quirky and we have great ideas coming out of this city.