Whether your goal is to build community ties, beautify Main Street, educate and engage your neighbors, inspire local youth, or all of the above, ’tis the perfect time of year to spearhead a public art project in your neighborhood. With this in mind, we turned to Karen Mack, founder and Executive Director of LA Commons, a Los Angeles based organization that partners with communities to create public art projects that reflect and celebrate local culture. Here’s Mack’s blueprint to painting a mural that an entire community can be proud of…
1) Why? Determine what you’d like to accomplish by putting up your mural. What will it stand for? What purpose will it serve? (neighborhood beautification, community building, education?
2) Who’s your artist? Find a local artist- perhaps someone whose work you admire and ask them to join you. Choose a medium with the artist as well as a timeline and budget.
3) What’s your method? The most common methods for putting up a mural are either painting directly onto a wall, or painting the mural on separate panels to be installed on the wall. The later, allows for more flexibility and allows you to involve more people. Mack says use acrylic, water-based paint either way.
4) Where? Identify your site. Pay attention to the surface you’ll be working with- the smoother the better.
5) Permission? It’s generally easier to get approval to paint on private property than on public space. Schools, parks and local community centers are good bets as they’re often looking for beautification projects and come with a built-in network of potential volunteers. Regardless, it’s wise to check with your local city government to ask about existing policies on public art projects.
6) What’s the timeline? Once your project is approved, create a schedule and begin reaching out to the community and local youth- forge excitement and local support for the project and encourage volunteerism. Once the mural is complete, you’ll want it to be a local source of pride.
7) What’s on your supplies list? You can expect to spend between $300 and $600 on paint and supplies for an average sized 15 x 15 or 15 x 30 mural. Here’s a list of basic supplies: water-based acrylic paint in a variety of colors, brushes in a variety of sizes, rollers for large color blocks and priming, clear, anti-graffiti top-coat, primer, buckets and cups for mixing paint, paint stirrers, power washer to prep the surface, tarps, masking tape, rags and ladders.
Remember to tell volunteers to wear old clothing and shoes they won’t mind getting splattered on painting day.
When you’re done, take a step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
This post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project, a catalyst for world-changing ideas. Find out more about the Refresh campaign, or to submit your own idea today.
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