The 2015 Call to the Tallahassee Community: ‘I AM Gaines Street’ Mural

In collaboration with Tallahassee’s Opening Nights events, the Department of Art Education will be hosting a community mural painting from February 7th to the 28th on Gaines street. This event is a wonderful opportunity to make a lasting impact on the Tallahassee community.

For specific information regarding the painting schedule, please see the Facebook event page: Community Mural for Opening Nights.

You can also follow our #FSUpaintTally on Twitter or Facebook!

Art Therapy graduate student, Sia Ngauja has been working closely with department chair Dr. Dave Gussak on the design of the mural. She provided us with some insight into the process. When asked about the inspiration for the design, Sia stated:

As for inspiration it took me some time to figure out what to do but I was given guidelines by Dr. Gussak, my supervisor, and then I later brainstormed with a mini team or cohort of students who were also on the mural team with me. Dr. Gussak’s guidelines was that I needed to try to embody what Gaines Street was about, as well as give homage to the arts and the last mural done by the department that was being torn down.

Location of Gaines Street Mural –
651 West Gaines Street. Image from Google maps.

It was also important that the mural not only be aesthetically engaging but also reflect the atmosphere and artistic culture of Gaines street. Sia, along with her mural committee comprised of fellow Art Therapy  students Evie Hempler and Sharla Dyess, researched the history of Gaines street to get a sense of how to best reflect this culture. They sought to create a design that incorporated many elements that flowed together in a cohesive way.

Our final product was a mural that portrays youth doing the arts such as dancing, rapping, playing an instrument, etc. and relishing in it. We hope everyone enjoys the outcome as much as we do and we should start putting up the mural up Feb. 7 – Feb 28.

The monumental task of painting this 12′ x 75′ mural will begin on February 7th and run through February 28th. The community is welcome and encouraged to participate beginning on the 9th. For specific information regarding the painting schedule, please see the Facebook event page: Community Mural for Opening Nights.