COVID got you stuck at home? Stroll around and look at this outdoor art in Charlotte
How much do you know about the art in your own backyard?
Art Walks CLT seeks to connect Charlotteans to local public art and artists via interactive self-guided neighborhood walkabouts known as Art Walks.
“It was a really fun idea that I have had for a long time,” said founder Anne Low, who will soon be celebrating the community engagement tool’s second anniversary.
The longtime art instructor for Central Piedmont Community College always made it a part of the curriculum to take her students out on a walk to see public art in their everyday world, and it very quickly became her passion.
“It took a little while to figure out what [the concept] was going to look like. I knew it was going to be digital,” Low said of the idea behind her website.
She started with two walking tours — uptown Trade and Tryon, and Plaza Midwood, the neighborhood she knew best.
“I wanted it to feel seamless — as if you’re walking around the neighborhood on your phone and learning a little bit about each piece as you’re walking along,” Low said.
Two years later, there are 14 neighborhood-based tours. Each walk allows you to spend 45 minutes to an hour in any given location and is designed with a path in mind.
“Have fun with art — that’s what it’s all about. Have fun interacting with the art.”
The walking tours are located in Elizabeth/Midtown, Gold District, NoDa, Plaza Midwood, uptown and South End. It might be especially fitting to try them on an ebike designed by a local artist (yes, you can do that, thanks to B-cycle).
Here’s a little about each tour:
City Stories from ImaginOn (New)
Start at ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center at 300 E. 7th Street in uptown
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 18 artworks on this Art Walk. “This one (walk) is my favorite right now,” Low said. “Each of the pieces tell a story about the city, or about the site, or about the story the artist wanted to tell.”
Low received a micro grant from ImaginOn, and said the whole idea of this tour is about storytelling.
“[This artwalk] has the diversity of media. It’s not just murals or sculptures. It’s interactive – such a nice variety.”
Other examples:
Title: “Touch My Building.”
Location: 215 E. 7th St.
Artist: Christopher Janney
Date: 1998
Media: Stainless steel, acrylic panels
Artist Info: www.janneysound.com
Story: This parking garage is a musical instrument. Janney designed “Touch My Building” as part of his “urban musical instrument” series for Bank of America and the Arts & Science Council.
Key Formal Elements:
Scale — the entire building is art — and color — cool blues, warm pinks and yellow at the top.
Title: “Strange Fruit”
Location: North Tryon Street between Duckworth’s and the library
Artists: Dammit Wesley
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @dammit_wesley
Story: The artist who goes by the name of Dammit Wesley is a community leader, social and political activist, and outspoken supporter of creatives of color. His art sheds lights on the Black experience through the lens of popular culture, and often can be overt in its meaning, or subtle, as in this case. This mural was completed during Talking Walls.
Key Formal Elements:
Strong use of outline, secondary colors of green and orange
You’ll also see:
Mad About Murals I
Start at 105 E. 5th St.
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 16 murals on this murals-only ArtWalk.
Other examples:
Title: Mural by Hooker and Moore
Location: 105 E. 5th St.
Artists: Matt Hooker, Matt Moore
Date: 2015
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @hookermedia @puckmcgruff
Story: In one of the first murals completed by the duo of Matt Hooker and Matt Moore, this mural explodes with pictorial imagery related to the city of Charlotte. Hooker and Moore, or the Matts, as they are known, have work all over the city with a style that is always changing and always engaging.
Key Formal Elements: Focal point on the far right with a bright yellow explosion, symmetrical balance
Title: Fly Girl
Location: West 4th Street across from Pearl Dentistry along a loading dock
Artists: Sloane Siobhan
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @namasteloner
Story: Artist Sloane Siobhan is from Charlotte and received her BFA in Studio Art from Appalachian State University. She now works out of Las Vegas and came home to paint this mural for the Charlotte Shout festival in collaboration with Talking Walls.
Key Formal Elements: Asymmetrical balance, blue and orange complementary colors
You’ll also see:
Mad About Murals II
Start at the McColl Center on North Tryon Street
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 10 murals on this ArtWalk.
Other examples:
Title: Mural by Napoletano
Location: 801 N. Tryon St
Artists: Nick Napoletano
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @napoletanoart
Story: Funded with a Cultural Vision Grant from the Arts & Science Council which stressed building community and financial support from AerialCLT business owners, the artist presents portraits of real women. This group of women is racially diverse and LGBTQ inclusive. The artist found his models with the help of Time Out Youth, a local organization that provides a safe space for youth and support for LGBTQ.
Key Formal Elements: Scale, complementary colors of blue/orange simplify the background
Title: Halcyon Idyll I and II and Coexist Murals
Location: Just past the 9th St Station at underpass
Artists: Sharon Dowell
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @sharon_dowell
Story: Federal Transit Administration Circular 9400.1A encourages the inclusion of art in transit systems. According to the circular, “Good design and art can improve the appearance and safety of a facility, give vibrancy to its public spaces, and make patrons feel welcome.” In other word, design matters. For the Blue Line, up to 1% of design and construction costs was set aside to create public art. CATS Arts in Transit program hired artists as part of design teams and often the resulting art is integrated into the architecture.
Sharon Dowell painted five separate facades on the 11th Street underpass along the pedestrian trail and the I-277 underpass.
Key Formal Elements: Saturated colors, asymmetrical balance
You’ll also see:
Uptown Trade & Tryon
Start at the corner of Trade and Tryon Street in uptown
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 13 artworks on this Art Walk.
Examples:
Title: Harmony
Location: In the plaza in front of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Artists: Julie Warren Conn
Date: 1996
Media: Polished granite
Artist Info: http://www.juliewarrenconn.com/
Story: Artist Julie Warren Conn studied sculpture at the University of Tennessee. Her artwork is installed in museums and in public and corporate collections throughout the Southeast. The title “Harmony” perhaps refers to the music present in the Performing Arts Center.
Key Formal Elements: Shape —use of negative space creates variety; and sculpture type — freestanding, abstract sculpture
Title: Il Grande Disco
Location: Southeast corner of intersection on the Bank of America Plaza
Artists: Arnaldo Pomodoro
Date: 1974
Media: Bronze
Artist Info: www.arnaldopomodoro.it
Story: This is one of the first public art installations in Charlotte. Created by Italian artist Pomodoro, the sculpture speaks to the growth and energy.
Key Formal Elements: Varied text is used to engage the viewer, bronze made by the casting technique
NoDa East
Start at the intersection of N. Davidson Street and E. 35th Street in NoDa.
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 17 artworks locations on this ArtWalk. “NoDa is always out front, always the next new thing. [There are] such supportive artists in their neighborhood. I love being able to investigate NoDa,” Low said.
Examples:
Title: Bloom
Location: 3200 N. Davidson St. side wall
Artists: Osiris Rain
Date: 2017
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @osirisrain
Story: “Bloom” is a 46-foot by 10-foot mural by artist Osiris Rain with assistance from Nick Napoletano. Originally the mural included a branding logo for Stella Artois, but the current rendition reflects changes. A signature component of many of Rain’s murals are his grey-scale human faces.
Key Formal Elements: Dominant colors are warm hues of yellow, orange, and red; delicate use of the cool color blue around the lotus flower creates a focal point
Title: Trash Receptacle
Location: At the corner of 35th St and N. Davidson St
Artists: Grace Scott
Date: 2020
Media: Ceramics
Artist Info: @stott_pots
Story: NoDaRioty, the arts committee for the Historic North Charlotte Neighborhood Association, partnered with the City of Charlotte and the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program to commission artists to design existing trash receptacles. A call to artists was sent out and eight artists were chosen to produce their designs.
Key Formal Elements: Free-standing sculptures, texture
NoDa West
Start at 3205 N. Davidson St. in NoDa
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 16 artworks on this ArtWalk.
Examples:
Title: Als Ich Khan: A Tribute to NoDa
Location: 3205 N. Davidson St on side wall of Jack Beagle’s
Artists: William Puckett
Date: 2010
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @mr_puckett
Story: This is a fantastic starting place for a walk in NoDa. One of the original NoDa art projects, William Puckett put out a call for volunteers to be included in this mural. 274 community members showed up and each one is included in the mural. Puckett is one of the first mural artists to produce substantial work in Charlotte. He estimates his murals cover over 30,000 square feet of Charlotte walls. Puckett recently moved to Scotland to purse his doctorate.
Key Formal Elements: Heavy use of outline around the figures, little negative space meaning the area is almost entirely covered with figures
Title: Mural at the Chamber
Location: 416 E. 36th St
Artists: Brett Toukatly and Mike Wirth
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @B_twokat and @mikewirth
Story: Brett Toukatly and Mike Wirth collaborated on this massive mural on the side of Wooden Robot’s The Chamber. Toukatly, an illustrator and muralist, was the winner of the inaugural Battle Walls competition in 2019. He was also a featured artist in the Mint Museum’s ConstellationCLT exhibit in Fall 2019. Wirth, a founding member of both the Southern Tiger Collective and the Talking Walls Mural Festival, incorporates his signature flow fields.
Key Formal Elements: Symmetrical balance, heavy use of outline
South End Bland Street
Start at the LYNX Blue Line Bland Street Station
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 19 artworks on this ArtWalk.
Other examples:
Title: River Rock
Location: Bland St Light Rail Station
Artists: Hoss Haley
Date: 2007
Media: steel and concrete
Artist Info: @hosshaley
Story: Haley titles his work “River Rock,” as though it is a rock sculpted to softness by centuries of rushing water. Much of his work requires the viewer to question what they know about the material they are viewing and how they think that material looks.
Key Formal Elements: Smooth texture, organic shape
Title: Pre-Historic South End Brontosaurus
Location: Charlotte Rail Trail near Park Condos
Artists: Amy Hart
Date: 2016
Media: Found metal
Artist Info: www.amyhartdesign.com
Story: Another Charlotte Rail Trail project, this sculpture was funded by a private donation and a Historic South End Place Making Grant with the support of the Park Condos HOA. Amy Hart is a “found object sculptor.” She has a BFA from Syracuse University in Surface Design and Metalsmithing.
Key Formal Elements: Variety rules in this free-standing sculpture, use of negative space
You’ll also see:
Gold District
Start at 307 E. Lincoln St. in South End
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 12 artworks on this ArtWalk.
Other examples:
Title: Community Mural
Location: 307 Lincoln St
Artists: E.C Laney
Date: 2015
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @upawall
Story: This mural is a great starting place for the Gold District ArtWalk. The Gold District, named after the discovery of gold and the operation of gold mines in the area, is a small section of South End with general boundaries of Morehead, Summit, Church and Graham Streets. The Gold District is undergoing a revitalization with support from business owners and the city. Art is playing a role in its redevelopment and this mural is one of the first pieces commissioned in the district. Pro Tip: Catch the mural at twilight or evening and see the elements that light up.
Key Formal Elements: Polychromatic color scheme, large flat areas of color limit the illusion of depth
Title: The Muse
Location: 1200 S. Graham St
Artists: Sam Guzzie
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @samguzzie
Story: Sam Guzzie is a local artist and founder of Brand the Moth, a non-profit organization creating community-based public art projects and supporting emerging artists with the META residency opportunity. This is her second mural in the Gold District.
Key Formal Elements:Asymmetrical balance, loose and flowing lines
South End East/West
Start at the LYNX Blue Line East/West Station
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 12 artworks on this ArtWalk.
Other examples:
Title: East/West Water Basins
Location: Bland Street Light Rail Station
Artists: Nancy Blum
Date: 2007
Media: Bronze
Artist Info: www.nancyblum.com
Story: Nancy Blum, accomplished artist and recipient of the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Grant, created these whimsical water fountain basins. As part of CATS Arts in Transit, Blum designed these 18-inch diameter cast bronze basins as functional water fountains. They are installed at 13 light rail stations on the Blue line.
Key Formal Elements:Texture of the bronze, repetition of the blossoms and inscribed lines creates unity
Title: Confetti Hearts Wall
Location: Design Center of the Carolinas Atrium along West Worthington
Artists: Evelyn Henson
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @evelyn_henson
Story: Commissioned by Asana Partners, a real estate development firm located in Charlotte, artist Evelyn Henson captures our hearts with her “painting happy art to brighten your day.” Henson started painting 6 years ago and this mural marks her first public art project. I’d say it is a wild success.
Key Formal Elements: Repetition, polychromatic color scheme
South End Tremont
Start at the Common Market at 235 W. Tremont Ave.
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 12 artworks on this ArtWalk.
Other examples:
Title: King of Pops Mural
Location: 235 W. Tremont Ave.
Artists: Cynthia Allison
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @cici_artsyhippie
Story: Charlotte native Cynthia Allison responded to a call to artists from King of Pops to design a mural. The King of Pops Community Mural Project seeks to support new or emerging mural artists with a commission in one of the cities they have operations each year. In 2019, Charlotte was the featured city.
Key Formal Elements: Use of outline, primary colors
Title: Krispy Kreme Mural
Location: 2116 Hawkins St., back of the building
Artists: Gina Elizabeth Franco
Date: 2020
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @ginaelizabethfranco
Story: Hot Doughnuts Now! 72 individual and personalized doughnuts are painted by Greensboro-based Gina Elizabeth Franco. Her bold colors and pop art inspired art attracts many selfie takers. Look at all of the designs she creates and find the right doughnut for you!
Key Formal Elements: Repetition, symmetrical balance
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Plaza Midwood
Start at the corner of Thomas and Central avenues
Time: All artworks are within a 5-minute walk from the starting location.
What’s to see? There are 18 artworks on this ArtWalk. “You’ve got some really big names that worked on pieces in [Plaza Midwood], and smaller artists, too. There is early work from some of the best working artists in Charlotte,” Low said.
Examples:
Title: Mural
Location: 1510 Central Avenue back wall in the parking lot at corner of Central and Thomas avenues
Artists: Matt Hooker, Matt Moore, Nick Napoletano
Date: 2016
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @hookermedia @puckmcgruff @napoletanoart
Story: Large wall mural features a portrait of Brandy Alexander, a celebrated North Carolina drag queen, and uses her image to create awareness around the HB2 conflict and discrimination against the LGBT community.
Key Formal Elements: Modeling or shading makes the face look three-dimensional, floating necklace creates a sense of implied motion in contrast to her intense stare and solid stance
Title: Mural
Location: 1401 Central Ave on the back wall of the alley behind Midwood Smokehouse
Artists: Desism KTC-MPC
Date: 2016
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @thedesism
Story: Superheroes are the subject matter of this mural covering the wall that hides the trash collection areas for the restaurant.
Key Formal Elements: Outline — heavy use of line in the figure of Spiderman; polychromatic color scheme
Plaza Midwood 2
Start at 1226 Central Ave.
What’s to see? There are currently 3 artworks on this ArtWalk, although walkers should check back soon as six new pieces will be added.
Examples:
Title: Talking Walls Mural
Location: 1226 Central Ave.
Artists: Georgie Nakima
Date: 2018
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @gardenofjourney
Story: Georgie Nakima is a Charlotte-based artist who completed this mural for the inaugural Talking Walls Mural Festival in 2018. Three larger-than-life-size female faces boldly occupy the main space of the mural along the side wall of the hair salon. Nakima creates strong and fierce women in her art as a way to empower women of color and all womanhood.
Key Formal Elements: Complementary color scheme of the orange background and blue figures, use of light blue outline at each edge
Title: Mural
Location: 1306 Central Ave.
Artists: Valeriya Volkova
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @valtastic
Story: Valeriya Volkova painted this mural as part of “Dripped on the Road” for Talking Walls 2019. “Dripped on the Road” is a traveling artist residency program based out of Brooklyn. For several weeks resident artists and mentors travel and camp in an RV in national parks, give talks to universities, and paint murals.
Key Formal Elements: Repetition of the purple pods, organic shapes
Elizabeth and Midtown
Start at Lineberger Dentistry at 327 N. Caswell Road
Length: About 0.7 miles
Time: About 13 minutes walking at a steady pace.
What’s to see? There are 16 artworks on this ArtWalk. “I did this one during quarantine. We just had the best time sort of walking around. The cool thing about this walk are the wall-poems – a really unique project,” Low said. She added that walkers can see a range of work from artist Nick Napoletano.
“It’s nice to see an artist at his early work, and what he’s doing right now,” Low said.
Other examples:
Title: Wall Poem and Mural
Location: 2024 E. 7th St
Artists: Amy Bagwell, Graham Carew
Date: 2016
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @wallpoems, @emotiontapes, @grahamcarew
Story: As one of the components of this Wall Poems installation, the original poem by Amy Bagwell for this project is reproduced in its entirety on the side wall of this building. Mural artist Carew painted the large bird with colorful wings, perhaps the colors of fireworks.
Key Formal Elements: Installation, warm colors of red and orange and cool blue used in the feathers
Title: Resistencia
Location: 1426 E. Fourth St
Artists: Maria “Toofly” Castillo
Date: 2019
Media: Acrylic paint
Artist Info: @toofly_nyc
Story: Ecuadorian and New York artist Toofly completed this mural for Talking Walls 2019. But then she almost didn’t. From her native Ecuador, Toofly encountered many flight delays on her trip to Charlotte as her country was in the midst of a violent protest and she barely made it here.
Key Formal Elements: Contour lines in the roses, symmetrical balance
Next up: When you get done with the Art Walks, how about COVID-friendly self-guided walking history tour?
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 2:30 PM.
