Kokomo’s art scene has expanded throughout 2023.
While a number of exhibits will be swapped out in coming months or years, residents can comfortably grow attached to a handful of artistic splashes throughout Kokomo and surrounding areas.
Notably, the city has seen an increase in murals since last year’s holiday season. The works primarily have focused on celebrating Kokomo residents.
Pfc. Carl Hughes Jr. memorial
The city of Kokomo rededicated Northside Park to Pfc. Carl Hughes Jr. on July 7.
Hughes, who spent his last moments alive as a hero, grew up two blocks away from the park.
Northside Park was known as the Carl Hughes Memorial Field for a while. It was where the Northside Little League played. Additionally, a placard to honor Hughes was installed at the park 49 years ago.
To celebrate Hughes, local artist Rhonda Eads painted a mural at the park.
The painting, which spans the back of the park’s pressbox, depicts an eagle mid-dive with a Purple Heart in its beak and Hughes’ dog tags around its neck. A rippling American flag takes up the mural’s background.
Eads explained she frequently works on murals throughout Kokomo. She coordinates projects with Parks Superintendent Torrey Roe and has painted the majority of her murals along Kokomo trails.
The muralist noted she was juggling work on another mural at the Hachet Memorial Soccer Complex while working on the Hughes mural.
At the time, she had just knocked out a mural in Zionsville and was planning another for the Kokomo Public Maintenance & Refuse building that would depict various Kokomo icons.
During the mural’s planning stage, Eads said, Roe and city development specialist Tom Tolen coordinated a meeting with Hughes’ widow, Karen Clelland, and her second husband, Denny Clelland.
Eads learned about Hughes’ legacy during the meeting. He was deployed in Vietnam when, on Dec. 14, 1969, his platoon came under fire.
Hughes’ friend Jim Gibbons was shot in the head early on in the fight and landed facedown in a pool of water. Hughes dragged Gibbons to safety while clearing out enemy soldiers.
Miraculously, Gibbons survived the head wound. Hughes, however, took on too many wounds while protecting his friend.
“We talked for about an hour or so, went over all kinds of different things and what had happened,” Eads said.
A pump track for bikes and skateboards was also installed at the park. When the park was rededicated, Eads stood near the mural.
The Clellands and Gibbons, who flew in for the ceremony, said they enjoyed the painting.
We are Kokomo
Toward the end of 2022, silhouettes were painted on the northern exterior wall of Sun King Kokomo.
Once the mural was finished, it depicted the silhouettes with a map of Kokomo imposed on their bodies.
The painting, titled “We Are Kokomo,” was created by Sienna Urbina. It was funded by the Indiana Destination Development Corporation, which promotes the state in an effort to garner visitors, students and businesses.
At the time, the IDDC had funded more than 40 murals across 33 Indiana counties, including another on the Tipton County Chamber of Commerce.
After the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance secured funding for the mural, it reached out to Urbina to see if she would be interested in the project. Urbina agreed fairly quickly.
Shortly after, she met with a few community stakeholders to discuss possible design options. The group went through 15 design changes before deciding the artist’s first rendition had been the best.
“I wanted it to symbolize Kokomo,” Urbina said. “And I have always believed that in any place that you go to, it’s not about the place as much it is about the people who make up the place.”
Some of the other designs were more abstract or focused more on the mural’s sunny background, Urbina explained.
With her design ready to go, Urbina began painting in June 2022. She made her way from Logansport to Kokomo as often as she could throughout the summer.
However, the Fairview and Franklin elementary schools art teacher wasn’t able to get to Sun King Kokomo as frequently once school was back in session.
“These public art projects help tell the stories of our local communities in beautiful and enriching ways,” Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch wrote in a press release at the time. “I hope first-time visitors and longtime residents alike will be able to enjoy these new assets and feel a sense of pride and belonging in Indiana.”
More projects underway
The city of Kokomo put out a call for artists back in February.
The goal was to find muralists who could install a few interactive murals along the side of Comics Cubed, 121 E. Sycamore St.
At the time, city development specialist Steve Geiselman explained the “interactive” aspect was meant to encourage downtown visitors to pose in front of the mural. He referenced murals with human-sized wings as an example.
The mural was also supposed to represent Geek Street, especially comic book themes.
The project was open to all Indiana and Midwest artists.
The application deadline was set for March 16. However, work on the mural hasn’t started yet.
Shawn Hilton, owner of Comics Cubed, explained the project was delayed while the shop looked into purchasing the Comics Cubed building.
More recently, the Howard County Veterans Memorial Corporation has begun planning for a monument to be dedicated to Opha May Johnson, a Kokomo native who became the first woman to join the Marines.
The veterans group received permission to place the memorial on the northwest corner of the Howard County Courthouse’s lawn Aug. 21.
Plans for the monument include three separate walls, decorative landscaping and a bench.
The first wall will be 7 feet tall and include a picture of the first female Marine.
The second wall, standing a bit taller than the first, will feature a biography of the Kokomo native carved into black granite.
Finally, the third wall will be 11 feet tall and boast a solar powered Marine emblem that will light up after dark.
Benjamin Victor, who also sculpted the Women’s Legacy Memorial on the northeast corner of the Courthouse’s lawn and the Blue/Gold Star Family Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park, has been tapped for the Johnson memorial.