New set of murals go up
The second annual Paint the Town in Clarksdale had a little bit of everything.
Artists came from as far away as Bogotá, Colombia to paint murals on walls in the downtown area last week, but it was much more than the first Paint the Town in 2018. Four artists came last year and all of them painted murals. This year, more than triple the artists participated, some were local and there were a diverse range of paintings.
Three rooms at the Travelers Hotel were donated for artists to stay in. Some Clarksdale residents allowed artists to stay in their homes. All artists received a $200 honorarium.
“They all like it,” said Paint the Town organizer Eric Stone. “They like the publicity. The ones who have come from far away, one thing they have told me that they really all like about it is they all usually work in very big cities. And, in a big city, there’s already a lot of street art. If they do even a big wall in a big city, it doesn’t have a big impact on the whole city, but when something here in a small town, you can see the immediate big impact on the whole city.”
Skela, who comes from France and has lived in New Orleans for four years, painted blues musician Howlin’ Wolf on the East Second Street wall across from Regions Bank and the Red Panther on the wall of the parking lot by the alley on East Second Street.
She knew the red panther used to be in Coahoma County, but was extinct for a long time. She did not know it was the Coahoma County High School mascot.
“I have one of my nature Godesses that I paint that’s protecting the planet and protecting the red panther and warning us that everything is fragile and there’s no reason to destroy everything just to impose ourselves,” Skela said.
Juegasiempre from Bogotá, Colombia painted a picture of a local girl, Jasmine Jackson, who works at McDonald’s on the East Second Street wall across from Regions Bank.
“To me, it’s a homage to beauty, to women and to the black race, who traditionally have lived here and to the music also and the blues festivals that take place all the way around,” Juegasiempre said.
He also painted a dog and cat at the CARES animal shelter.
Chase Reid from Denver, Colo., painted a trombone player on the wall of the parking lot by the alley on East Second Street. He enjoyed getting to know artist Michael Carter from Oxford.
“It’s awesome,” Reid said. “I’m having a lot of fun here, meeting a lot of artists. I’ve been painting with Michael every day. Learning a lot from each other is fun.”
On the same wall, Carter painted faces with a lot of famous blues artists from Mississippi including Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Son House and, Junior Kimbrough and Robert Johnson. He included a map of Mississippi in the middle.
“It starts from a focal point,” said Carter on the process of putting his mural together. “Once I have a focal point, I layer it up. I like the patch works. It adds different material.”
Austin Britt was one local artist involved and his mural was on the wall across from Nellie May’s on Delta Avenue. He painted a triangle representing the Delta, the heart of the Delta, the heart of downtown and the blues.
“I think this is a great opportunity for locals and visitors to get together and express themselves,” Britt said. “I hope that locals can come together and realize we’re trying to beautify the town and not necessarily deface anything. There are some controversial concepts with certain people and locals. I just think people need to make conversation before making judgment.”
Likmi Soberana from Bogotá, Colombia was also at the 2018 Paint the Town. Her mural was a mouse riding the guitar in the alley on the corner of Third Street. She had a greater understanding of Clarksdale her second time in town.
“I met more people,” she said. “I can understand more of the problems. I get to know really more nice people, really open-minded. There is a good variety and I think that’s what’s important, diversity, and that everyone has the space.”
Juan Acosta from Bogota, Colombia painted the late blues artist Leo Bud Welch next to Soberana’s mural.
“One of the things I really liked about him was he has that pink guitar,” Acosta said.
Those interested in learning more about Paint the Town and getting involved may email Stone at es@ericstone.com.
