Local artists invited to apply to design, create giant mural in Portland neighborhood

Kentuckiana artists have the opportunity to create a mural the length of more than 16 football fields in the Portland neighborhood.

The Louisville Metro Office of Arts + Creative Industries is asking local artists to submit designs for a mural on the north and south side of a floodwall at Rowan Street and 10th Street. The section is 6,000 feet long, and it includes one of the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District’s flood water pump stations.

Artists can submit their design applications online until Sept. 1.

Proposals will be selected by Louisville Metro’s Commission on Public Art on Sept. 16.

The installation process at the flood wall is expected to begin by next spring, said Jessica Bennet Kincaid, the director for the Office of Arts + Creative Industries.

The future public art display is a part of the $50 million dollar project to expand Waterfront Park. The mural would “serve as an eye-catching entryway to Waterfront Park’s newest attractions,” city officials said in a news release.

MSD’s communication director Sheryl Lauder said the concrete floodwall has been an eyesore in the area. She said the mural project follows many “nudges” from community members encouraging MSD to transform the floodwall into a public art display.

“Our very utilitarian infrastructure can be transformed and be an inviting entryway to that new park,” Lauder said. “So we're really excited about that, and looking forward to seeing what the call for artists brings in.”

The mural will join other public art pieces that “give a fresh look” to MSD’s mechanical buildings across the city, Lauder said.

In 2022, local artist Whitney Olsen created the mural that wraps around MSD Fourth Street flood water pump station. The full-building piece — entitled “Hope Springs – The Wishing Well” — depicts a waterfall and 3D fish, turtles and flowing rivers that wrap around the facility.

The planned floodwall mural is part of a pilot program that will turn four other local sites into a public art display. It is funded by Louisville Metro Government in partnership with Louisville MSD and Waterfront Park.

Kincaid said the program is part of an effort to transform concrete structures around the city, and provide more opportunities for local artists.

“I'm always excited to learn about all of the talent and creativity in our community that we weren't aware of before,” she said.

The floodwall blocks high water from the Ohio River from entering the city, Lauder said. The wall on 10th and Rowan Street is a part of a 26.1-mile stretch of floodwalls around the city.