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Mural unveiling set for Freetown community in Greenville

Greenville Center for Creative Arts and Blank Canvas Mural Company will unveil a new mural at Freetown Community Center with an event on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, from 4-7 p.m.

The unveiling event will feature fun activities for the whole family, including live music with Fine Arts Center Jazz Studies students and food from Time to Taste Catering featuring chef Daniel López. GCCA contracted with Blank Canvas Mural Company and artist Adam Schrimmer for the mural design and implementation. Schrimmer facilitated conversations at Freetown Community Center with neighborhood residents to determine meaningful content and messaging for the artwork and to ensure the design captures the unique spirit and legacy of the Freetown community. The mural will be painted by Schrimmer and students from GCCA’s Aspiring Artists after-school art program, which takes place monthly at Freetown Community Center. The mural project is produced in collaboration with Greenville County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, with support from ScanSource Charitable Foundation and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and is supported by funding provided to the South Carolina Arts Commission from a partnership with the S.C. Department of Education from American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funds.
Greenville Center for Creative Arts is a non-profit organization that aims to enrich the cultural fabric of the community through visual arts promotion, education, and inspiration. For more information, visit www.artcentergreenville.org, call 864-735-3948, or check out GCCA on Facebook (Greenville Center for Creative Arts) & Instagram (@artcentergvl).

Jason Rapp

Seeking a live mural artist for the 2022 Charleston Wine + Food Festival

Crush Studio is seeking an awesomely talented and badass, 2-D graffiti or mural artist for the 2022 Charleston Wine + Food Festival.

We are a creative event design and production company that will be producing a fun event space for one of the festival’s presenting sponsors at the 2022 Charleston Wine + Food Festival. The custom two-story structure is one of the largest at the festival, and year after year, draws thousands of attendees to the space. This year’s theme for the space is “urban playground.” We will incorporate hip, cool, and vibrant city elements that invoke fun and play and inspire attendees to travel to new, exciting places—think the High Line in NYC, spray painted tire swings, street art, etc. As part of the activation, we plan to have a live installation street artist producing a mural on the side of the structure. Think styles similar to James Goldcrown, Maya Hayuk, Hektad, etc. The idea is for festival attendees to watch the mural come to life over several hours, and at the end of each festival day, a unique, vibrant piece of art will remain and serve as a photo backdrop for festival goers. The artist will produce the murals for each of the three festival days. Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday through Sunday. We envision the actual painting to occur from about 11:00 to 2:00, leaving an hour at the end of the day for photos. The mural will be produced on a large canvas adhered to the side of the structure (not to be painted directly on the structure) so that it can be removed at the end of the day to make way for the next -day. A new mural will need to be produced for each day. Previous experience creating murals or large-scale paintings preferred. Details are listed below:
  • Theme: The World is Your Playground - colorful and playful murals encouraged
  • Where: 2022 Charleston Wine + Food Festival Riverfront Park, 1001 Everglades Ave. North Charleston, SC 29405
  • When: Friday, March 4 through Sunday, March 6, 2022 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
  • Compensation: $1,500 per day (arrive at 10:30 a.m. to set up, wrapping up by 2:30 p.m.). Artist to provide all materials, except for the canvas.
  • Approximate mural size: up to 18’w x 10’h
  • Ownership: Each of the completed murals will be owned by the client and will be donated to a local organization (to be determined).
Please send up to 5 previous examples of work (or a link to website, and/or IG handle), as well as mock-ups of 1 mural design for the festival, to erin@crushstudio.com.

Milly

Mural artist need announced in Spartanburg

Square graphic in dark tones that reads, "Call for mural artist, Spartanburg South Carolina. Robert Smalls Townhomes. Public art management by Chapman Cultural Center. Preference will be given to BIPOC artists and Spartanburg County artists, but all artists with a vision and passion for this project are encouraged to apply."

Artists are encouraged to apply for a two-part mural to be installed inside at Robert Smalls Townhomes in Spartanburg.

Chapman Cultural CenterThe townhomes should be ready for mural installation in the spring of 2022. This mural will be located in the clubhouse, which will serve the needs of the tenants and will be open as a meeting place for local groups and clubs. The purpose of the murals is to commemorate the life of Robert Smalls and educate the community as to his amazing feats of bravery and daring and his service in South Carolina state government. This project is being managed by Chapman Cultural Center. Click here for additional information. Contact Melissa Earley if you have any questions. mearley@chapmanculturalcenter.org, 864-278-9685.

Jason Rapp

Spartanburg artist needed for mural

'Hope in the Burg' to transform building

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, May 28, 2021, 5 p.m. ET

Spartanburg artists are encouraged to apply to design a public art project to include a large destination mural in downtown Spartanburg.

The mural is meant to become a destination for people who live in or visit Spartanburg, much like the “Love Where You Live” mural currently is. The Come Closer group would like to see clever and dynamic design that will naturally encourage people to take selfies in front of it and thus help spread the word about the Hope in the Burg project. The mural will be installed on the back brick wall of the SC Legal Services offices. Their official address is on Main Street, in downtown Spartanburg, but the back wall mural will be facing Dunbar Street. The mural, or parts of it, will likely be used as a logo, coloring sheet, and may be used for stickers, t-shirts, posters, etc. Mural and other related items will be used to promote the Hope in the Burg project throughout the Spartanburg community.

Eligibility

All artists over the age of 18 who live or have a studio in Spartanburg County are eligible. Applicants should be aware that the artist selected for this project will not be able to retain intellectual property rights to their selected design(s). The mural and related images created for this project will become the intellectual property of the Come Closer group, a Spartanburg-based Christian organization (read more below) who plan to reproduce the work with little or no profit. Any profits made from the sale of related merchandise will be donated to local charities who provide essential services in Spartanburg County, such as food, shelter, healthcare, and education. However, the group agrees to include the artist’s name or signature on all commercial reproductions, if the artist requests it. This public art project, an initiative of Come Closer, is being managed by Chapman Cultural Center. The submission deadline is Friday, May 28 at 5 p.m. ET. Read more in the artist call. Please contact Melissa Earley if you have any questions: mearley@spartanarts.org or 864.278.9685.

Hope in the Burg, presented by Come Closer

Spartanburg is a place where hope exists. It is present in our community and available to everyone. For people of faith, we know that there is hope in Jesus who has the power to change lives. We see hope at work in our schools, hospitals, prisons, businesses, neighborhoods, churches, shelters, and other organizations. Whether you are seeking spiritual truth, assistance during one of life's storms, or a new way of life altogether, there is hope in the 'Burg! The HOPE mural is meant to be a gift to the residents and visitors of Spartanburg from the Christian faith community. It is meant to direct people who are struggling in our community to services that can help them and bring them hope.

Come Closer Group

Come Closer is a city movement made up of a group of pastors, ministry workers, business and civic leaders who desire to love the city of Spartanburg to life in Christ. Come Closer focuses on important areas of need in the community such as poverty & homelessness, children & orphans, prisoners, internationals & refugees, racial reconciliation and fighting against human trafficking.

Submitted material

Anderson students paint mural to decorate garden

From the Anderson Independent Mail Article by Charmaine Smith-Miles

[caption id="attachment_26618" align="alignleft" width="300"]Southwood Academy of the Arts Southwood Academy of the Arts middle school student Jessica Webb helps paint a mural on a building with teacher Joshua Powell and volunteer Marci Sloan at G Street Community Park in Anderson.[/caption] After hours of painting, a group of eighth-grade students admired the progress they made on a mural that will serve as a backdrop for a community garden on an empty lot on G Street in Anderson. "I thought it would be a tough process," said one of the painters, 14-year-old Jessica Webb. "But it has actually been a lot of fun. It feels good to brighten up the community and to shine a little light on it." The students who painted the mural are part of the Arts in Basic Curriculum offered at Southwood Academy of the Arts. They have spent three years attending art classes every day of the week. And as they prepare to finish their middle school careers, they tackle a "legacy" project that becomes a piece of art that they leave behind for their school or their community, their teacher, Joshua Powell said. The school's last two projects were wood sculptures that were completed and made part of the school's campus. This time, they decided to tackle a project off campus. So, they spent an hour Sunday, about six hours Monday and will spend another four hours on Tuesday painting a 5 feet high by 30 feet long mural at the G Street Community Garden. "I offered the students this chance to give back," Powell said. Powell also said the project cost about $1,000 and was paid for using part of a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission. The mural is painted on the side of a cement-block building which is located on the lot directly behind the garden. Members of Artisan Church, many of whom live on the city's "alphabet streets," planted the G Street Community Garden in June 2015, and have now expanded the garden from four raised beds to eight. The 28 residents who live along the street are encouraged to pick the produce grown in the garden, said Marci Sloan, who is the garden's manager. Sloan's husband, Jay, is the pastor at the Artisan Church, which meets on Market Street in Anderson. In March 2015, the Sloans bought the empty lot at 319 G Street and started recruiting help from the congregation in clearing the lot and planting the garden. Now, the lot, which was once an acre of overgrown weeds and brush, is decorated with tables and benches and a bed of flowers. One of the raised beds is full of almost-ready-to-pick carrots, and others are planted with tomatoes, herbs and different kinds of peas. And the mural behind it all depicts a scene of city and rural life — meant to show the character of the Anderson community. The design for the mural was completed by the students, Powell said. He said the students were divided up into eight groups and then Marci Sloan selected the design she liked best. "We want this mural and the garden to be a focal point for the community," she said. "The whole city is something for residents to be proud of. We want to make others aware of something good going on in the community here." Alex Irby, Ashley Kozikowski, Garrett Patterson, Rylyn Wood and Jessica Webb put together the design that was selected. "It's cool that our design was chosen," said Irby, 14. "We want this to be a peaceful place." Image above: Southwood Academy of the Arts middle school students look at a partially painted mural on a building with teacher Joshua Powell (right) at G Street Community Park in Anderson.

International street artist brings 3-D skills to Charleston

From the Charleston Post and Courier Article and photo by Sydney Franklin

On the corner of Huger and Hanover streets, a new public mural is set to welcome residents into the neighborhood. Painted on a freestanding, L-shaped wall in a vacant lot next to Taco Boy, a symbol of the city has become bold-and-bright street art thanks to internationally renowned graffiti artist Sergio Odeith. For the project, Odeith partnered with Enough Pie, a nonprofit that promotes creative placemaking in the upper peninsula. Cathryn Zommer, the organization’s executive director, is anxious to see how Odeith’s mural will affect the community. “Odeith is very famous for his incredible usage of corner spaces, and that corner has sat a little bit downtrodden for many years,” she said. “It’s a highly walked area and there is a thriving community just to the south. We thought the plot would be perfect.” Odeith also created a mural at a private residence on Hester Street while in town. It’s an early 20th century view of King Street. A pop-up celebratory community gathering for the project will be held 7-9 p.m. Friday (June 5) at Corrine Jones Park, 36 Marlow St. Attendees can learn about Odeith’s work, view the Hester Street mural and listen to the local band, Archetypes. This free concert, sponsored by the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, will benefit the Charleston Parks Conservancy. Born in Damaia, Portugal, Odeith is widely recognized for the anamorphic graffiti letters that he paints on 90-degree corners, creating a 3D effect by manipulating vertical and horizontal planes. He has created large-scale murals for major businesses such as the Coca-Cola Company, Samsung, London Shell and Estradas de Portugal. Charleston is the third U.S. city to which Odeith has brought his spray painting skills and signature style. He also has marked the walls of Lexington, Ky., and Baton Rouge, La. In each case, he creates an image that represents the city. Kentucky has horses; Louisiana has the alligator. The mosquito will identify Charleston. “We are thrilled that (the mural) so poignantly celebrates Charleston, South Carolina,” Zommer said. “It definitely locates us.” Odeith, visiting the Lowcountry for the first time, sees this as a chance to make an impact on the city. “I know people will see it and it will make them think,” he said. “I believe graffiti is like some kind of free art for everybody to have on the street. It’s something outside of the galleries. So it’s really cool that anyone can have the opportunity to take a picture of it.” A gathering for the Huger Street mural will take place on June 20 as part of the Awakening III Solstice. Enough Pie has already invited about 18 local artists to contribute to the freestanding wall where Odeith worked. “We are trying to bring the space back to life and we really want to see outdoor art foster in the community,” Zommer said. “The arts are a great way to have dialogue and start to inspire what people can do in their own neighborhoods.” Sydney Franklin is a Goldring Arts Journalist from Syracuse University.

Columbia artist illustrating seasons at Congaree National Park

From The State:
When someone from Congaree National Park called Columbia College looking for help in selecting among artist-in-residence applications, Mary Bentz Gilkerson begged off the assignment. “I told her, ‘I don’t think I should jury it because I wanted to apply,’” said Gilkerson, an arts professor at the college. She did more than apply; she was selected for the second artist-in-residence slot at the park. For the past few weeks, Gilkerson has been working on a mural in the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. Park staffers told her some visitors who can’t physically handle the trails and boardwalk wait on the benches in that small area while friends or family members tour the park. When she’s finished, what used to be a plain waiting area will give the people sitting on those benches a sense of the trees and waterways at a certain spot where the trails intersect with Cedar Creek. “I want this to be a place where people who can’t get out there can experience the immersion of nature,” Gilkerson said. Her work illustrates the park through the four seasons. There are only three wall sections, so the large center section features the meld from spring to summer. “I’m most interested in color and light and how it moves across the surfaces,” Gilkerson said. She’s having a blast as the artist-in-residence. In fact, Gilkerson has been romping around in the woods in this area since her childhood, when her family owned land just across the Congaree River in Calhoun County. She now owns a horse that she boards with a friend just a few miles from the park’s entrance on Old Bluff Road. “I remember being turned loose to play in these woods as a kid,” she said. “It smelled so good, all the different spices of the woods.” Now, as part of the artist-in-residence program, she’s guiding hikes through the park, helping others see the colors and shadows and smell the special aroma.
Via: The State

Artist captures Georgetown’s lost Front St. stores in mural

From the Georgetown Times:

The seven buildings that were destroyed by fire on Sept. 25 are slowly reappearing on Front Street ¬– one stroke of a paint brush at a time. Asher Robinson, a local artist, is painting a mural of the lost buildings on the side of the new home of Harborwalk Books, one of the businesses destroyed in the blaze. Michelle Overton, who bought the book store business from Anne Carlson days after the fire, originally wanted to have “Harborwalk Books” painted on the side of the building, which sits at the corner of Front and Screven streets. That’s just across from the Town Clock. “We wanted to do something to beautify the place,” Overton said. Overton said a friend suggested a mural of the lost buildings. Robinson had the same idea. Robinson began by drawing the buildings on the wall in permanent marker. That took about a week. For the last two weeks he’s been painting the buildings, using colors as close to the originals as possible. The next step will be to add the details, such as signs, awnings, and window displays. Robinson estimates he’s spent about 100 hours working on the mural. As the mural has taken shape, it’s become a gathering place for people. “It’s the talk of the city,” Overton said. “[Asher] has become a celebrity overnight.” Several people have come into the store after seeing the mural to purchase some of Robinson’s artwork. Overton and her husband reopened Harborwalk about three weeks ago. She said people still come in looking for Carlson and her dog, B.D., which spent its days greeting customers at the old location. “Annie has been a tremendous help,” Overton said. “I wanted her to know people really appreciate what she’s done.” Carlson stops by the new location occasionally, but B.D. probably won’t visit since the Overtons are trying to turn their two dogs, Sam and Millie, into shop dogs.

Artists invited to submit proposals for mural project

South Carolina artists with experience in designing and constructing outdoor murals are invited to respond to Richland County's Request for Proposals for a mural or a group of murals to be created on the Staples Building at 2744 Decker Boulevard (pictured above) in the northeast area of Columbia. The mural(s) will provide a focal point for the multi-ethnic cultures that have contributed to the international flair of Decker Boulevard, which is known as the "International Corridor." Submission deadline is Dec. 18, 2013, at 4 p.m. A required pre-proposal meeting is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. in Richland County chambers. Qualifications: 1. Artists must be professional artists living in South Carolina. 2. Artists must have at least five years experience in designing and constructing outdoor murals. 3. Materials are left to the discretion of the artist, but must ensure durability, longevity, long-term exposure to the elements, and low-level maintenance. 4. A Maintenance Plan describing materials and processes used so that repairs may be made if required, and a schedule of maintenance must be provided by the artist(s). 5. Artists must submit a portfolio of at least 3 outdoor murals completed within the last 5 years. 6. Artists must submit current references for each completed project. The maximum budget for this project – labor, materials, supplies, equipment, etc. – is $10,000. Richland County will cover the cost of scaffolding rental not to exceed $1,000. Any additional rental cost will be the responsibility of the artist. The artist is encouraged to partner with Richland Northeast High School to incorporate students in the development and installation of the mural. Review the complete guidelines and submission information here. Guidelines are also available on the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties' website. For more information, contact the Cultural Council at (803) 799-3115. Via: Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties