Here’s a mural I came upon in an out-of-the-way restaurant parking lot while visiting Pittsburgh last summer.  Funded by a Pittsburgh’s public art program, it made me long for murals right here in Greenbelt.

Here’s where I’d love to see murals instead of blank concrete – on our iconic underpasses.

Murals have recently been popping up across America, in small and large cities, in styles both modern and historic.

Some cities, like Takoma Park, have a combination of old and new styles, examples of which are above and below.

Above, the newish and much-loved mural at the Takoma Metro station.   Photo credit.

And I can imagine a “Welcome to Greenbelt” mural like this Welcome to Deanwood.

Above, a very cool example in Richmond, another city that’s gone mural-mad in recent years.  Photo credit.

How about this underpass mural somewhere in U.K.?  Maybe not the style for Greenbelt but love the concept.  Photo credit.

Depicting History

Murals depicting Greenbelt’s amazing history might be especially popular here, so I Googled “historic murals” and found lots of them, including:

In Old City Philadelphia. Photo credit.

Above, one of many beautiful murals in Philadelphia.  The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program has produced more than 3,000 works of art during the past 25-plus years. This one is on the wall of the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center.  Photo credit.

Also found in Philadelphia is Forever Home, above, promoting adoption of dogs and cats.

In San Angelo, TX all the murals are historic, like the one above.  An arts group has funded 11 of them so far.

The Voice of America headquarters in DC has a collection of historic murals, some depicting the New Deal era.

And the Greenbelt-sized town of York, PA installed 17 murals depicting York history and culture, like this one of York during war times.

On Funding and Vandalism

Everyone’s fear is that murals will be ruined by vandals but with their widespread popularity these days, I figured there must be solutions to that potential problem, and sure enough, there are.  Like coatings that are designed to prevent vandalism. And engaging the local youth in the creation of murals has been effective measure in many cities.  Here are some tips about preventing vandalism and also finding funding from Perry Frank, project director for  DC Murals:

“In DC, murals are funded by a couple of city sources–the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the Department of Pubic Works. Arts and Humanities selects venues and the artists do mock-ups and compete for the bid; Public Works funnels money through two nonprofit groups, which then select abandoned sites and work with youth to create the murals. Also, many murals in DC are privately sponsored and funded.

“The Public Works initiative started as a “graffiti abatement” program–a way to discourage vandalism and graffiti by replacing it with wonderful art. These great murals are rarely defaced, and if they are can usually be easily touched up. What helps is getting the whole community behind the arts initiatives–public education and information, usually starting with local community leadership. (Also, kids who do graffiti can be incorporated into the mural making, becoming part of the team lead by professional muralists.)

“Murals do cost money, for supplies, equipment, and stipends for artists and helpers. To make this happen in Greenbelt, you need to see if the city can create a budget–or perhaps money could come from the arts commission in your county (or the state of MD). You need to check into how other cities in MD are doing it–look at Baltimore, I think it has some. The local commissions, in turn, get their money from general budgets and/or the National Endowment for the Arts, through grants.

“It is indeed a process to get this in place, but with eager artists and some advocacy, Greenbelt can join the crowd–many smaller communities also have murals. The fear of defacement is really just an excuse for not putting some energy into developing a local program–yes, there may be a bit of graffiti, but if you get the whole community involved it will be small–especially if part of your mission and public information campaign addresses the general love of the murals and also the opportunity for youth to participate.”

In Greenbelt?

I mentioned the notion of local murals to Greenbelt artist Barbara Logan, who loves the idea and plans to look into making them happen as soon as she and Chris get back from Mexico in the early spring.  So stay tuned!  And if you’re interested in helping, leave a comment here.