The next stages of the Tacoma Murals Project are moving quickly – the 43rd Street bridge training mural is already in progress! With several community meetings behind them, the teaching artists and muralists of this year’s Murals Project are looking forward to attacking the wall this weekend with prep work and priming, in the hopes of getting the bulk of the mural done within a week or so.
A few of the muralists clean and prep the barrier of the bridge. Photo courtesy of Kelda Martensen.
On Thursday, the group began prepping the low barrier by scraping old paint and moss off of the wall. Priming is slated to begin today, and the goal is to have the wall completely primed and partially painted by the end of the weekend.
The muralists have already met with graffiti cleanup crews and neighborhood groups to learn more about the community’s assets and liabilities. They’ve gathered responses and other input and developed a design proposal, shown below.
“With our design,” says lead artist Chris Sharp, “we’ve left room for further community input and I can foresee us having a spontaneous component finishing the design.” These community meetings have helped the artists gain a better understanding about the personality of the neighborhood, and what its residents hope to see for the mural that will soon be gracing their daily commutes.
The proposal design for the 43rd Street bridge. Image courtesy of Chris Sharp.
Curious about the design and how it will come to life? Swing by the 43rd Street bridge – near the intersection of E. 43rd Street and E. C Street – between 10am and 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday to see the artists in action. Plenty of painting should be going on this weekend (weather permitting!), and you won’t want to miss it.
