Painting the town
New community art project adds beauty to public spaces
The streets of Searcy have been filling with color recently. A project has been created to bring new life to the city’s public spaces. Searcy’s Think ART Project was started last year to promote the city, improve its quality of life, increase tourism and encourage relocation through the power of art. “Art is all around us,” said Mat Faulkner, director of the Think ART Project. “We’re just excited to get it going and draw awareness and excitement in Searcy as well.” The Think ART Project recently completed its first mural on the side of the Quattlebaum Music building in downtown Searcy. The mural, created by artist Tara Peacock of Bald Knob, highlights song titles and lyrics of Arkansas musicians. Faulkner said the mural has become a popular destination for sightseers and area photographers. “I come from a musical family, and Quattlebaum Music has been around for a long time, so I just wanted to take inspiration from lyrics and typography — I’m also a graphic designer, so typography is another one of my passions — so I just wanted to combine those two things together,” Peacock said. Peacock said her design originally included lyrics from a variety of artists, but the review committee pushed for the mural to be focused on Arkansas artists. “It was a huge project but very rewarding,” she said. “It’s something I get to drive by every day and be proud of.” The function that the Think ART Project committees serve is to work with the local government, property owners and artists to select sites for potential murals and, once a site is selected, coordinate funds, work with local agencies on code enforcement, and coordinate artists and muralists. Proposals for potential projects can come from anyone, Faulkner said, whether a citizen, an artist or a property owner. Once a project gets approved, the Think ART
Project sends out requests for proposals from artists, which can include amateurs and professionals. From there, a committee does a blind review of applications, and an applicant is chosen. To fund each mural, Faulkner said, the committee will take private donations, hold fundraiser events, crowd-source, and seek out grant opportunities and corporate sponsorships. Once the funds are available, the artists can produce the mural themselves or work with a muralist if the project is too large. While the mural is being worked on, there will be an educational event for the public where people can meet the artist and learn the meaning behind the artwork and the process. After the project is completed, there will be a celebration,and a plaque will be mounted to commemorate the project. Faulkner said the mural project took inspiration from Fort Smith’s Unexpected art project and cities like Chicago and Philadelphia, which embrace and celebrate art in public spaces. Another project that was recently completed was at the Searcy Event Center basketball courts. Searcy artist Angela Turney, president of the Searcy Arts Council, designed one of the basketballcourt murals and worked with local elementary school students to complete the paintings. She said the children were very enthusiastic about the project. “It was exciting,” Turney said. “Just to see the kids’ faces light up and feel that they are working with an artist is kinda cool.” Turney said she believes the Think ART Project is important and that the new murals are making people smile. Downtown, the project has created Art Alley. This alleyway was cleaned up to make it safer, and overhead lighting has been added. Each first Friday of the month, artists will be painting in the alley. Faulkner said there will be live music, and visitors can watch the murals being created. “It is awesome to see so many talented people come together in a public way and have their talents shown and put on display for the community at large,” he said. In the future, Faulkner said, he hopes other forms of art can be created, such as sculptures, water features, lighting features and more. He said the murals were the best way to start the project because they can be completed faster and are less expensive. He said now that the ball is rolling on the Think ART Project, he hopes it will gain more support from the community. “I don’t see this slowing down anytime soon,” he said.