One of Hamilton’s most popular programs will add 3 new murals in 2019

Three new murals will be coming to Hamilton this summer as part of StreetSpark’s program that seeks designs from artists and beautifies high-profile locations in the city.

“We’re going to branch out into different places,” said StreetSpark program manager Jennifer Acus-Smith.

This year, the program is spreading out from the corridor of High and Main streets, into Lindenwald and the Second Ward.

One mural will face the intersection of High Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from the eastern wall of the Max Stacey Flowers building at 350 High St. Another will be on a high-profile side of Minnick’s drive-thru, located at 2537 Pleasant Ave., in Lindenwald. The third will be on the Booker T. Washington Community Center, 1140 S. Front St.

Frank Downie, a leader of PROTOCOL (People Reaching Out To Others: Celebrating Our Lindenwald), said he believes the Minnick’s mural, given its high-profile location in the neighborhood, can be a significant addition to the business district.

Artists must submit their designs by midnight on Feb. 8, and the three selected designers will receive $700. They can submit up to three designs, either for one site or all three, but only one design per artist will be selected.

Information sessions will be held to help artists understand how best to submit their ideas and applications — something Acus-Smith said was helpful to those who attended last year. Those meetings will be 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts and 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10 at the BTW center.

The winning mural designs will be announced around mid-March.

“I’m very excited to see what artists are going to come up with,” she said.

Here’s more information about designs for the mural locations:

• At the Max Stacey building, where a fountain in a pocket park that was damaged is being restored, Hamilton’s Rotary club is sponsoring the painting, and artists must create an image that is based on the organization’s ideals of service above self, community, and peace & goodwill. The artists can choose one or more of those concepts for the design. Artists are encouraged to use as an inspiration when designing it the pocket park’s garden and return of the fountain.

• At the Minnick’s building in Lindenwald, use of the word “Lindenwald” is encouraged, because it’s an entry point to the Lindenwald business district. Students from Miami University earlier this year created an economic development plan for Lindenwald, and suggested the building as a mural location. That report actually is what put the location on StreetSpark’s radar, Acus-Smith said.

• At the BTW center, artists are encouraged to use the style of Harlem Renaissance paintings, with their bold colors and stylized looks. They are encouraged to feature local heroes, leaders and musicians, such as Hamilton funk musician and talkbox pioneer Roger Troutman.

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