Muralists travel to Fort Smith to transform downtown area

— Whether they're home grown or from the other side of the world, the muralists in The Unexpected this year are excited to bring their art to the streets of Fort Smith.

Acclaimed muralists from all over the world each year travel to Fort Smith during The Unexpected to beautify the outsides of buildings in the downtown area. Though they greatly differ from each other in style, this year's muralists are enjoying changing the appearance of the town.

"The murals are helping to bring parts of this place back to life and to bring something good to the town," said muralist Alex "Pref" Geoffrey of London, England.

Geoffrey, one of two Unexpected muralists from Europe, is painting his mural on the north side of a building in the southwest corner of Towson Avenue and North C Street. Geoffrey said his decision to accept the invitation to The Unexpected was "a no-brainer."

"I had seen some of the murals that had happened in previous years," he said. "With some of them, I didn't even know they were at this event until I got here."

When finished, Geoffrey's mural will depict three-dimensional block letters that spell out "the very best is yet to come" in a flowing banner. Geoffrey said he got the idea for the mural because of the mission of The Unexpected to revive Fort Smith, the Southwest Times Record reported.

Geoffrey is also using the color blue and the flowing pattern in his mural to pay homage to the Arkansas River, he said.

"A lot of towns settle along rivers and along coastlines, because historically, that's where goods and things are transported to and from. It's the connection to the outside world. In the past, the river has brought wealth and projects," he said. "Just like the Arkansas River has brought this place prosperity in the past, this river is going to bring prosperity in the future."