Officials from the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art have issued a Call for Artists to find an individual to design and paint a new mural in downtown Hattiesburg that will join the almost 50 large-scale murals throughout the city.
The mural will be featured on an exterior wall of the Shows, Dearman & Waits building, located at 301 2ndAvenue in Hattiesburg, with an expected theme of “Hattiesburg in Realism.”
“Hattiesburg is on a mission to become ‘The City of a Hundred Murals,’ so we set a goal each year for what we can accomplish in bringing public art to Hattiesburg,” said Kristen Brock, who serves as director of programs and development for HAPA, which is a program of Visit Hattiesburg. “Since there has been new development with the roundabout (on Hardy Street and 2nd Avenue) near Shows, Dearman and Waits, we had set a goal to add a mural that can be seen from that roundabout.”
Keeping in line with the “Hattiesburg in Realism” theme, interested artists should submit engaging designs that honor the Hub City’s past, present and future, including ideas, accomplishments, people and industries historical relevant to the city. Artists are invited to tie in architectural and infrastructural elements into the design.
The completed project will measure approximately 13 feet high by 42 feet wide.
“There’s a lot of diversity in the types of art that is seen in our murals throughout Hattiesburg, but we don’t have any that are really in a ‘realism’ style,” Brock said. “So we’re looking for something in that style, that really gives a nod to Hattiesburg’s past, present and future.
“So let’s celebrate where Hattiesburg has been and where Hattiesburg is headed, through realism design for the wall.”
Applications for the mural can be submitted at www.hburgart.com/artists, where interested artists also can find additional details and project instructions. Artists must apply by the deadline of 5 p.m. November 30.
The final design selection will be based on artistic merit, creativity, demonstrated ability, technical knowledge and the artist’s interpretation of the theme.
If all goes according to plan, the new mural will be completed by the end of this year.
“We hope to end 2023 halfway to our goal of 100 murals,” Brock said. “Right now, we are at 48 murals in Hattiesburg and we have a couple more projects in the works for 2023 to really end the year strong.”
Other murals in Hattiesburg include “Essence of Happiness” by Andrea Kostyal on Broadway Drive, “Soar and Score” by Aubri Sparkman at the University of Southern Mississippi, “The Hattiesbirds” by Kayla Newnam at Campus Book Mart on Hardy Street, “Together as One” by Ivan Roque on the Longleaf Trace near the intersection of West 4th and West 7th streets and “You Can Do Big Things” by Steffi Lynn Tsai at Thames Park.
“We typically see anywhere from 12 to 36 responses for all of our public art calls,” Brock said. “For every one that we’ve done, we have had submissions from artists across the country.
“So there is a lot of demand to add to the public art footprint in Hattiesburg, and we’ve got a lot of artists from across the United States that really want to leave their mark on our city.”
For a list of murals and other HAPA public art around Hattiesburg, visit www.hburgart.com.
