Charlotte just got 16 new murals last weekend--here’s where to find them
If you’re driving around the Queen City this week and there seems to be a lot less beige than you remembered on last week’s commute, it’s not your imagination.
The Talking Walls festival debuted this past weekend, with 17 mural artists painting 16 new murals surrounding Center City. The project was the brainchild of Southern Tiger Collective’s Alex DeLarge and IMEK Studio’s Kevin Taylor, with the help of committee members Rob Reilly and Queens University professor Mike Wirth.
It was an effort of the local arts community combined with sponsorships that allowed for 10 local artists and seven national/international artists to come together in the name of public art.
“We wanted to mix local with international and national,” Wirth said. “Our goal is to get Charlotte on the map as a festival city for murals. This is definitely a multi-million if not a billion dollar industry around the world. Charlotte, we have artists here — we have talent. As we were coming up with the festival, we were like, ‘Why are we leaving town to go do this? We should do it here’.”
Artists began arriving on Wednesday and painted through Sunday. Due to the rain, many of them lost two days of work but still managed to come out with 16 completed, detailed show-stopping pieces.
Sponsorships from local businesses really helped to make this happen, DeLarge said. One of the sponsors was the Hyatt House, which entered the local arts scene in a big way after glass windows were broken during protests in the wake of the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The Hyatt House’s Matt Allen invited artists to paint on the plywood temporarily boarding up the space. Those plywood pieces become works of art.
Hyatt House came through again with hotel rooms for some of the artists, DeLarge said. “One of the artists got to stay in his room across the street from his wall. That’s a dream come true.”
In addition to hotel rooms, each artist was given supplies, including paint and lifts. Many local sponsors offered food. Other businesses gave money. Each artist was paid $1,000.
For the business owners that offered up a wall to paint, they also gave up all creative control — all of the art was the artist’s choice. The only rule was that nothing vulgar would be painted. The business owners all agreed to keep the art for at least a year.
“This celebratory event captured the powerful impact of public art in our community by revitalizing neglected spaces, inspiring cross community dialogue and raising the arts tourism profile of our city by cultivating new voices of creative expression,” said artist liaison and Talking Walls ambassador Sydney Duarte. “Charlotte’s creative community is blossoming.”
Here is a look at the Talking Walls murals, but they are better experienced live — so use this as a map to drive around and see for yourself:
7th Sin Tattoo
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7NERpAot2/?taken-by=talkingwallscharlotte
See it live: 927 Central Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: JEKS
Based in: Greensboro
Abari Game Bar
See it live: 1721 N Davidson St., Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Gus Cutty
Based in: Asheville
Chasers
See it live: 3217 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Ramiro Davaro-Comas
Based in: Brooklyn, New York
Hal Marshall Building
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9S24nAVJW/?taken-by=talkingwallscharlotte
See it live: 700 N Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Sebastian Coolidge
Based in: St. Petersburg, Florida
Hal Marshall Annex
Charlotte artist @napoletanoart working on a masterpiece. #talkingwallsfest pic by @shootbt
A post shared by Talking Walls (@talkingwallscharlotte) on Oct 13, 2018 at 1:13pm PDT
See it live: 618 N College St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Nick Napoletano
Based in: Charlotte
Ink Floyd
See it live: 1101 E. 36th Street, Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Trasher
Based in: Mexico City, Mexico
InnerVision
See it live: 408 E Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Hoxxoh
Based in: Miami
Mecklenburg Valve
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1YuKCHD3F/?hl=en&taken-by=dentonburrows
See it live: 2407 Central Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Denton Burrows
Based in: New York City
Moo & Brew
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo9qi6Th0bW/?hl=en&taken-by=madmanart
See it live: 1300 Central Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: MDMN
Based in: Phoenix
Pizza Peel
See it live: 1600 Central Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Darion Fleming
Based in: Charlotte
Pure Intentions
See it live: 2215 N Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28204
Artist: Arko and Owl
Based in: Charlotte
Salon 1226
See it live: 1226 Central Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Garden of Journey
Based in: Charlotte
Spirit Square
See it live: 345 N College St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Dammit Wesley
Based in: Charlotte
Spoke Easy
See it live: 1530 Elizabeth Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204
Artist: OBSO
Based in: Charlotte
Tip Top Market
See it live: 2902 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Scott Nurkin
Based in: Chapel Hill
Tire Maxx
See it live: 2609 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Pucho
Based in: Miami
Tryon Street Alley
See it live: 200 South Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: McMonster
Based in: Portland
If you’re still driving around and haven’t gotten your fill, artists have been busy all year creating new pieces all over the city. Check out some of 2018’s newest murals here and here — Charlotte even has murals that move.
This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Charlotte just got 16 new murals last weekend--here’s where to find them."