Mural artist Stephen Sloan traveled from Nashville to be part of the Marion Makeover Street Jam. Staff photo by Matthew Sharp
This past weekend was a chance for artists to come to Marion and paint the town red, green, purple or any color they felt like.
The Marion Makeover Street Jam was intended as a way to beautify the town while also showcasing the work of the artists who participated.
The event saw 10 murals go up across the city, ranging in size and design depending upon the artists who created them, their vision and the building they went onto.
These 10 murals took the work of more than 25 artists and an entire weekend’s work to complete in most cases.
Several murals were created near the intersection of First and Washington streets. Murals went up on the east wall of the courtyard on the north side of the Courthouse Square, the alley extending south from the Fourth Street side of the Courthouse and the east wall of the Community School of the Arts building. Bahr Bros. Manufacturing on Lincoln Boulevard was also a site for one of the murals.
For event organizer Bill Reece of Sender Wellness, the event was about showcasing art in the area, as a way to inspire the other artists in the city while increasing the overall look of the city.
“The goal was to bring public arts, and a ton of color to the city,” said Reece. “Just inspiring people in various ways, and to bring a lot of positivity to the city of Marion.”
To Reece, public art plays a large role in the overall appearance and morale of the city.
“If art is sitting behind walls in a gallery, you can’t really see it and don’t have access to it,” said Reece. “Street art is really for the public just driving by, walking by. Our hope would be that this inspires a bunch of young artists to get out and start painting.”
Reece said he would like to continue to work on this project, with hopes of adding more art in the spring.
This project featured more than just local artists, as people who worked on the murals came in from across the state and country to be part of the work.
“We really wanted to show the quality of art there is out there,” said Reece. “In addition to bringing urban art to rural America, we wanted to bring world-class artists to middle America.”
One of the artisans who traveled a long distance to be a part of the project was Stephen Sloan, who traveled all the way from Nashville, Tennessee to take part in the event. Sloan does mural work full time, and said he tries to do four or five events a year where he donates a mural to a city.
Being able to leave his mark on a city is something Sloan enjoys.
“I love it,” Sloan said. “It’s more out in people’s faces so they see your work. I like trying to bring like a photo opportunity for people to come in and just get a little enjoyment out of their day. When they drive by it gives them something to look at more than just a big wall.”
Reece said he wants this project to be a part of the visual transformation of Marion and hopes that people see the works that went up this weekend and decide to have their building be a part of future projects.
Copyright © 2024 Chronicle-Tribune