Cultural Alliance ‘devastated’ to see Tubman mural removed
Area arts leaders were saddened to learn that the “Freedom” mural, located on the north wall of 901 Central Ave., was to be removed as the building is being remodeled to add windows along the wall for DONS Southern Social, a new restaurant that will occupy the site.
Mary Zunick, the cultural affairs manager for Visit Hot Springs, said the mural, completed in November of 2021, was a commissioned work that several individuals and organizations came together to fund.
“There were a number of individuals and organizations that came together in support of it,” she said, noting the Hot Springs Branch of the NAACP and REGARD of Hot Springs were among those involved.
“The (Hot Springs Area) Cultural Alliance was the nonprofit organization. We’ve worked with other organizations to create murals throughout downtown and throughout the area because we have experience commissioning artists and doing that type of work because that’s kind of within the mission of the Cultural Alliance.”
Liz Colgrove, the HSACA program coordinator, said the cost of the entire project was approximately $15,000.
“The grant was from the Arkansas Humanities Council, which required us to have a program that is scholarly in nature with humanities scholars, so part of that grant funding went to hosting this event that was an educational celebration of Harriet Tubman,” she said.
“Part of the cost is the preparation of the wall. You have to have it cleaned and sanded. There’s a whole lot that goes into it before you can even put the paint on the wall, and then a percentage of that, of course, goes to the artist.”
Students at Hot Springs World Class High School also contributed to the artwork.
“The students came down and painted the figures that are along the base of the mural,” Zunick said. “Those are actually local high school students that were involved in the creation of the mural, and the thought was that they could paint alongside a professional artist and be a part of this artwork in Hot Springs.”
Colgrove said having the students involved was one of her favorite parts of the entire process.
The artist, Perrion Hurd, “was so flexible and so wonderful when we approached him with the idea to share his art and let the students come in and paint on it,” she said.
“And then he sort of rolled with it, and it went from — his spec of the work had just sort of some silhouettes at the bottom and we thought, well, wouldn’t it be cool if we could have some students help paint on that? And then he turned it into let’s put the students in the arts, and they painted their own silhouettes and worked with each other and made their own designs and own creations and that was so cool.”
Zunick said while no agreement was made as to how long the mural would remain, “it is unfortunate” to see the artwork removed.
“It’s sad that it will be removed,” she said. “Of course, it’s private property. I mean, the owner of the private property has the right to do what they wish with the private property. It is unfortunate that the mural would be lost but I certainly wish the chef well.”
Colgrove said while the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance supports Chef Joshua Garland and the restaurant being put in the building at 901 Central, the organization is “devastated” the mural is being removed.
“As an arts organization, our mission is to celebrate, advocate and promote the arts in Hot Springs, and that means we, of course, wholeheartedly support the chef’s restaurant,” she said.
“We are excited for his art. He is a true, true master at his craft, and we can’t wait to have another piece of his work here in town. Sadly, we were devastated that comes at the cost of destroying this piece of Arkansas art history. We hate to have to choose one or the other, and we don’t want to have to make any sort of choice like that.”
The hope, Colgrove said, is there is some way “we could have both of these things.”
“It’s a piece of Arkansas art history, and we want to — as much as we support this new business and private property — it’s part of our mission,” she said. “We have to help preserve the work that’s been done.”