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A new public art project is coming to Alamance County as Alamance Article launches its zodiac mural series.
The new organization, spearheaded by Roger Moore, Carey Griffin, Stephanie Ruiz and Billy Willis, came together this summer and The Zodiac will be its first project.
The first of 12 zodiac murals has been started at 703 E. Davis St. in Burlington. It depicts Cancer, created by artist @nonperishable.
Times-News
@nonperishable, Times-News
“We created a small organization called Alamance Article with some big dreams,” Griffin said. “Our main focus is just to create a platform for art, to really enhance the community, increase cultural programming and really connect neighborhoods across Burlington and Alamance County through art.”
“One way we know that has been successful in other cities and towns is through public art. We wanted to start with some murals and, of course, we couldn’t just start with one,” Griffin joked. “We decided to do a mural project including 12 different murals across Alamance County that revolved around the Zodiac.”
Moore said he first started dreaming up Alamance Article a few years ago with the goal of uplifting local artists. When the team got together, that idea blossomed.
“Alamance Article was an idea that I had probably two or three years ago when Stephanie and I started holding art shows,” he said. “I’m all about promoting artists … Our end goal is to come out with a magazine kind of like a nice coffee table book that spotlights local artists and events.”
Moore had already set a personal goal for himself to bring 10 murals to the county by the end of 2021, so when inspiration for the zodiac series struck, he knew it was the perfect opportunity.
“I believe that murals bring change to wherever they are. If you put a mural somewhere, people start to value that area a little bit more,” he explained.
“To me it’s like a win-win scenario and it brings public art,” he added. “I really want this to bring the community together, I want everyone to feel included and I want artists to be spotlighted. To me, there’s no wrongs in it. … It’s good for businesses, it’s good for the county, it’s good for the citizens of the county and it’s good for the artists and I just want to uplift all of it.”
Local artist @nonperishable, who has done previous public art projects in the county including the sunflower mural in Graham and more throughout the Triad, signed on quickly.
"Murals have a way of enhancing the experience of being in a town," he said. "It just makes everyone feel a little better if they live in a town that is covered in beautiful murals. I like the idea of getting more murals going in Burlington and helping revitalize this part of town.
"It just makes such a huge difference. People might not realize it until they experience it," he added. "Putting something beautiful on a blank wall really enhances the area so much more than you can describe."
The first mural, depicting Cancer, has been started on the side of H.Co Properties located at 703 E. Davis St., Burlington. It is planned to conclude before the New Year, depending on weather.
“We wanted to start in the East Davis neighborhood for a couple of reasons. One is because there’s so much potential there. We’ve had some people really invest in that area,” Griffin explained. “It’s less than a 10-minute walk from downtown Burlington. It’s an area that really needs a little bit of TLC and could benefit from having that community pride that comes with public art.”
A second mural location has also been selected with hopes for more to come.
“We are going to have a few in the East Davis neighborhood, but we want to make sure we hit North Burlington and go to West Burlington and even Graham, or if we could get to Saxapahaw that would be exciting, too,” Griffin said.
Another goal for Alamance Article is to have the entire project be publicly funded through crowdsourcing.
Just over $2,000 was raised in the first week of the GoFundMe campaign. Griffin said each mural costs an average of $2,000 to $2,500 including materials, equipment and paying artists for their time and talent.
“We’re hoping with this first mural that it will get people excited,” Griffin said. “It’s kind of cool to see that passion grow and multiply.”
Two more walls – making a total of four—have been secured for future murals because of that excitement, but Griffin did not disclose those locations.
Completion of all 12 murals will depend on funding, but Alamance Article hopes to complete the project within the next year.
“Things snowballed pretty quickly. We had two buildings and then @nonperishable was like, ‘I want to get started right away,’ and now we have two additional walls for other artists that are interested,” Griffin said.
As the project continues, Alamance Article is open to recruiting more artists and is already in talks with some.
“We’re open to having multiple artists through the process because there are 12 murals, but we are looking to highlight artists that are minority artists,” Griffin said. “We really want to uplift their ability to create art and be represented in our community as well because we do believe that Alamance County is diverse and we want to make sure we’re celebrating that.”
To donate or learn more about the project, visit gf.me/u/zb54dd.
