The City of DeKalb and its Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission (CCEC) are launching a new website to encourage the creation of more public murals and to solicit mural sites.
The initiative comes on the heels of the completion of DeKalb’s newest public mural.
A ribbon cutting was held Friday for the Unity mural in the Lincoln Highway underpass. The artists are Aaron Robertson, Ivy Vargas, Jordan Jacob and Shannon Gallagher.
“Last summer after the walls of the underpass were tagged by vandals, a group of talented artists within our community immediately took action,” said CCEC Chair Brad Hoey. “Taking advantage of the city’s recently implemented mural policy, these artists were able to quickly begin transforming the site of an unfortunate incident into a creative and inspirational work of art.”
To inspire more mural projects, the CCEC has created a website to put all the information needed to create a public mural in DeKalb in one, convenient location on the City’s website. It contains:
• DeKalb’s Public Mural Policy, which guides artists through the approval process.
• The public mural application.
• City-owned properties which may be used in mural applications.
Along with a comprehensive list of City-owned buildings, the website includes photos of some City buildings that may make ideal mural sites. These include: the DeKalb Community Center on Grove Street, hangars at DeKalb Airport and the Streets and Water Division buildings on Market Street.
“Not only has this team of artists created a beautiful piece of art, but the powerful message associated with their work has generated positive feedback throughout the community,” said Hoey. “Our hope is that other local artists will be inspired to utilize the public canvases within the City of DeKalb to create their own unique artistic vision.”
The CCEC is also soliciting privately-owned buildings to be considered for mural sites. Contact information can be found on the new website so building owners can have their property suggested to local artists.
The mural website can be found at https://www.cityofdekalb.com/1374/Public-Mural-Program.
Click Here To Submit A News Tip Or Story