Three artists have braved the heat this week to complete a mural on West Broadway Avenue in time for Summer on Broadway. The team began painting Tuesday and hopes to finish by Saturday evening, June 22.
The team comprises local artists Pinkie Mistry, Will Lunsford and Chuck Finley, each bringing their expertise and preferred mediums to the project.
The mural site in question — the former Exitech building at the corner of West Broadway Avenue and North Cusick Street — has been empty for years. After regularly passing the boarded-up brick structure to get to her studio space next door, Mistry said she felt it was time to do something with the exposed wood.
“It’s temporary,” she said, “But at least it’s something nice to look at.”
Mistry said the project’s roots go back to January after the building’s owner invited her to do something with the blank space. She mentioned the concept to her fellow artists in a meeting to discuss creating an arts council and said both were instantly on board.
The finished design will be comprised of latex paint work by Mistry and Finley, while Lunsford is adding elements in his preferred medium of spray paint to the mix. The image portrays a foreground of the downtown Maryville logo along with flowers and a butterfly on a background of rolling hills with a farmstead.
The materials were provided by the building owner, Mistry said, but all three artists are donating their time to the project.
The location, too, is significant. Broadway is one of Maryville’s busiest streets, Mistry said, and the mural will beautify the area beside one of the city’s most active stoplights.
Finley, for example, said he stops at the intersection daily. The artists have placed the Maryville brand on the right side of the mural so that it will be easily visible to traffic from the intersection.
Although Maryville Downtown Design Review Board members voiced worries about the planned 42-foot mural’s plywood surface, Mistry said she’s not concerned. The wood has been exposed to the elements for a year and is still in good condition, and after sealing the finished artwork should be able to survive for the two years the building is expected to lie dormant.
The timing to coincide with Summer on Broadway meant groups of festival-goers gathered to watch the artists at work Friday. Blount Partnership, which arranges the celebration, released a render of the proposed mural the day before work began.
Murals, partnership representatives wrote, “enrich the environment, foster community pride and contribute to the overall vibrancy and attractiveness of the city.”
For Mistry, the mural is an opportunity to improve part of the city for others to appreciate.
“It’s slammed all the time on this street,” she said. “So with all these people driving by, I think it’s going to be something nice for them to see.”
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