Mural project brings new art to downtown Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A new collection of murals have found homes throughout downtown Dayton thanks to the development of the Whoa Mural Project .

The name of the project has a simple origin.

“It doesn’t stand for anything, but when you walk up to an incredible wall you say, “whoa”,” said the project’s developer Atalie Gagnet.

Gagnet is an artist herself, having helped bring murals, paintings and installations to the Miami Valley and beyond since 2003. For this project, she was inspired to bring a new collection of art to the downtown area, hoping to impact the community’s look and feel.

“I’ve participated in mural festivals in the past, and I’ve seen what it can do to a city, and how it can transform a city, and the energy and the pride in a city,” Gagnet said. “I knew that I could bring something like this to Dayton with my connections, my history here.”

She consulted with five artists from Dayton, Cincinnati and the Netherlands to paint the murals, including Jennifer Ustick , Jill Cleary, Dai Williams , “I Am Eeelco” and Tiffany Clark .

Ustick, a Cincinnati-based studio painter and muralist, designed and painted the piece at the Neon.

Ustick and Gagnet have painted together for years, meeting at a Cincinnati artworks program in 2015. They’ve worked together many times since, showcasing their work in mural festivals and other projects.

Ustick is an alumni of the University of Cincinnati, teaching there now in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

As far as murals are concerned, Ustick completed her first in 2008 and never looked back.

In making a mural, artists have to contend with weather conditions and be able to determine an efficient approach to painting the piece.

Painting in a public space also demands that artists allow the work to progress at its own pace.

Jill Cleary, whose art features the signature “JILKC”, painted a mural at the Brightside Venue. The project gave Cleary the opportunity to get to know the Dayton area more.

“I live in Cincinnati and have always been at arms length. I know some great people in Dayton and got to learn more about the neighborhood. I also learned that I know more people from Dayton than I thought I did! People saw I was working up here and chimed in with personal stories and connections to the neighborhood and people; I love to hear that kind of thing.”

Cleary’s experience in the community while painting the mural is one shared by the other artists involved with the project, including Ustick and Dai Williams (a.k.a s0ftgh0st), another Cincinnati-based artist.

“I was excited to be a part of my first mural festival outside of Cincinnati, and the chance for people in and visiting Dayton to know my work/S0ft Gh0st,” Williams said.

Williams was selected for the opportunity after meeting Gagnet through Ustick, who they call a mentor and friend.

“I Am Eelco”, an artist from Rotterdam, Netherlands, painted the artwork below near The Avant Garde near downtown Dayton.

Tiffany Clark rounds out the five, contributing her talents to a work-in-progress on 735 Wayne Avenue. The piece will join Clark’s eclectic and large oeuvre across the Miami Valley. Gagnet and Williams are also working on that piece, which is set to highlight the Historic South Park area of the city.

Ultimately, the work involved with bringing these murals to Dayton helped connect these artists to the community and to themselves as artists and people.

Williams said that the project “was a good opportunity to learn something and push my work in a new direction, while figuring out how our different languages/styles can speak together.”

“Ustick described a “serendipitous” moment that she experienced during the painting of her mural at the Neon.

In the future, Gagnet hopes to bring more murals to the area through the Whoa Project. Her hope is that this pilot version of the project will serve not only as a point of beautification and inspiration for the city of Dayton, but also an example of what the project can do going forward.

Her fellow artists would surely agree.

“It would be amazing to see more WHOA Projects pop up in the future, so maybe this mural and the others can encourage more people to be involved and support their work in the neighborhood. More art always,” said Cleary.

To support the Whoa Project and to learn more about it, click here . For more information about the artists featured in the Whoa Project, click here .

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