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Over the last few months, new murals and public pieces of art have been added downtown in Starkville, Columbus and West Point.
A mural on the side of the West Point Animal Shelter began in August as a fundraiser for the shelter and is expected to be completed sometime in January, local artist Deborah Mansfield said.
Mansfield also painted a storybook sidewalk mural in Starkville called “Storybook Stairs” in October on the northeast side of Main Street and Lafayette Street.
In Columbus, a new crosswalk painting was added to Catfish Alley in November, which was a part of larger beautification efforts by Main Street Columbus and was funded by American Rescue Plan Act funds.
What is the process for designing and painting a mural? Are there any other murals coming up in the Golden Triangle? What do they bring to their communities?
What’s the process for creating a new mural in the Golden Triangle?
Mansfield said typically she’s approached by either a private business owner or a local organization looking to add a new mural to a city.
“I just work with them directly, and so far, they’ve never had to get approval in any of the towns that I’ve worked on for that … (but) then, I’ve had Main Street (organizations) … (and) arts councils ask me to do murals, and I think they pretty much get approval through the city,” Mansfield said.
Executive Director Barbara Bigelow said locations of new Main Street Columbus murals are recommended by either public input or by organization leadership. Based on the location for the design, it has to be approved by the owner of the property and other corresponding entities.
Funding, Bigelow said, can come from individual donors, local and federal grants and sponsorships.
“If the property is city-owned, the city council must approve the project,” Bigelow said. “If it is in the historic district, it requires approval from the Columbus Historic Preservation Commission. These are relatively simple processes requiring only a slight bit of paperwork and presentation to the appropriate group.”
The process functions similarly in Starkville, Squeak Humphrey, executive director for Starkville Area Arts Council, told The Dispatch.
“In downtown areas, you would definitely need City Hall’s approval,” Humphrey said. “… City Hall wants to know what is going up in their local spaces, and the last thing that you want to do is put up a mural without speaking with them first.”
What is the design process for a mural?
Mansfield said after getting an idea of what the client wants, she typically sketches out an initial design inspired by where the mural is going. After workshopping the design with the client, she creates the final design.
Mansfield said she then coordinates with the client to make sure the mural wall is clean and treated to ensure the paint holds for a long time.
She then upscales the design she’s already worked on and paints an outline on the wall either by freehand or by placing a guideline grid.
“You put a grid on the drawing that you’ve done, and you put the same grid on the wall, just (at) a larger scale, and then it’s kind of connect the dots to transfer your drawing onto the wall,” Mansfield said. “… Then you sketch it all out, and then it’s basically paint-by-numbers to get the base coat on, and then the final coat is adding the detail, highlights and shadows and things like that.”
The process takes anywhere from one day to six weeks, Mansfield said, and could run anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 based on the level of detail and size of the mural. Mansfield has done about 30 murals so far in Columbus, Starkville and West Point.
Why murals?
Downtown murals not only help to capture a city’s identity but also make downtowns more inviting for locals and encourage more visitors to stop and shop locally, Bigelow said.
“Murals encourage people to walk and explore their surroundings,” Bigelow said. “And hopefully, in the process, do some shopping or dining, thus spurring our local economy.”
Frances Glenn, director of tourism for the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, agreed murals are a great way to get additional foot traffic downtown. In the past, she said they have served as a way for the CVB board to promote Columbus through advertisements and promotional materials.
“They’re definitely attention grabbers,” Glenn told The Dispatch. “… We have several that tell the history (of the city). … I just think it just adds interest to our unique downtown.”
Columbus Light and Water commissioned a mural by Mansfield in 2023 on the side of the Jordan Building at 301 Fifth St. S., General Manager Angella Verdell wrote in an email to The Dispatch.
Verdell noted that the mural has helped increase the utilities company’s “visibility” both for locals and visitors.
“The mural services as a big storyboard for CLW,” Verdell said. “… The artwork now serves as a welcoming landmark, enhances the visual appeal of our facility and helps communicate our mission and values in a way that everyone can see. It’s also a way for us to invest in downtown and create something positive for employees, customers and the community to enjoy.”
Are there any upcoming murals in the Golden Triangle?
After successfully raising $36,000 from her previous fundraising project, a mural in West Point of dogs playing poker on the side of the Frank’s Liquor building in 2019, Mansfield said she’s got plans for another creation on the other side of the West Main Street building.
“I’m thinking about doing another mural there, where people could have their pets painted on there, and the theme of that one would be dogs in a blues juke joint,” Mansfield said.
Bigelow said Columbus Main Street is in the beginning stages of planning a new mural for downtown, with hopes of announcing more details next year.
As more murals are added to downtown, Glenn said she’d like to create a mural trail for visitors to follow through downtown Columbus.
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