Brush the Block: Blank walls to become love letters to Kalamazoo

Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave’s On the Ground Kalamazoo series.

KALAMAZOO, MI —Kalamazoo artists will Brush the Block this September. 

Artists will paint murals for the first-ever Kalamazoo Mural Festival, taking on six big, blank downtown walls Sept. 2  to 7. 

“Public art should really be an expression of the diverse people and cultures that live in our city,” Deputy City Manager Rebekah Kik says before the announcement of the participating artists on July 11. “And public art projects like the ones that are going to happen in September serve as an important reminder that there’s more that truly unites us than divides us.”

Unlike festivals celebrating music and culture, the Mural Festival will leave a lasting mark, literally. “This is a festival that’s going to leave something behind for us to remember what a great time we had and what a true celebration of love that this public art can be for our community,” Kik says.

The Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo organized the effort, with Kim Shaw, ACGK Programs Director, taking the role of Mural Festival Director.

For the festival, “Salvador Troli,” a trolley surreally decked out with a curly mustache, will give free rides on a circuit to see artists work on their murals. Discussions on public art, community art projects, and live music will also be part of the festival.

But after the paint dries, what impact will the Festival have on Kalamazoo?

Blank walls, colorful walls

Just to be devil’s-advocating, we ask, what’s wrong with having nice, clean, blank walls in our community?

“It’s oppressive, right?” Maya James, one of the six chosen muralists, says of having a community of big, blank walls. 

There may be spaces for people or businesses inside, but for everyone outside, the structure just looks imposing and unwelcoming.

James says, “There are folks who aren’t as lucky as me to have a home, to have a place to be.” 

James will be taking on the long, featureless brick wall of the Kalamazoo Transit Building, which lines North Burdick. Her mural concept is “We Got the Juice (In the Zoo),” featuring a hand squeezing juice out of a slice of fruit, surrounded by colorful native wildlife. 

She writes in her artist’s statement, “It’s a testament to what happens when a community invests in itself. That ‘juice’ — the drive to create, nurture, and sustain — flows through every corner of Kalamazoo.”

“It has been proven through numerous reports and research that public art does increase the mental health of all citizens in an area,” James tells us. 

Studies have shown that public art is much more beneficial to a community than blank walls. According to Public Healthpost, an online publication from the Boston University School of Public Health, “Public art’s ability to decrease stress, elicit awe, develop shared identity, reinforce self-efficacy, and promote positive health behaviors are clear public health impacts.” 

For Mural Festival Director Shaw, public art simply shows that a community cares.

Shaw says, “When I go into a city, and I see public art and murals and artwork and color, it grabs my attention and tells me people are invested in this place. It tells me that there’s an arts community and creativity blossoming there.”

Shaw and two of the chosen muralists, Patrick (Bonus Saves) Hershberger and Ellen Vandermyde, gathered to excitedly talk about the project after the announcement. 

“I love an articulating boom lift!” Vandermyde says of the crane-like machine used to help muralists reach heights. “It’s so fun!” 

She and other muralists will be getting the use of industrial equipment to reach high walls, provided by Sunbelt Rentals. Donations and local sponsors are essential to the Mural Festival, Shaw says. 

When the call went out for artists, the Arts Council received proposals from around Southwest Michigan, the region, and even some from other countries. There could be more murals if there were more funding — “There are other artists that we’re keeping in our pocket for other opportunities,” Shaw says.

But they had to limit themselves to six for the festival. “We knew we wanted local (artists), but that really has to do with how they wrote the application and how much they care about Kalamazoo.” Shaw tells the artists, “You know this community, and you can speak to it, and that is why you all got the highest scores.”

Public art requires an artist to be part of a team that includes the community. This isn’t like painting a canvas, with the hope that it sells and is placed in someone’s home, seen by few.

Vandermyde’s concept is “Keep Singing,” and is “about the shared sense of stewardship and community care belonging to the people of Kalamazoo.” Her concept image is of a falconer with a falcon, and people tending the local woods in the background.

That might not be the final image, she says. Vandermyde was chosen to paint the North Park Street wall of the Northside Association for Community Development. “I’m looking forward to the collaborative creation process for this mural because, you know, we all propose designs, kind of blind,” Vandermyde says. She’s going to be getting feedback from the building owners, “which I’m excited about.”

“That’s what’s so fun about doing murals like this, though,” Hershberger adds. “You being the true muse and allowing for their ideas to become your shared art experience. And these are community pieces, you know — they have to represent that.”

Brush the Block Mural Festival Artists and Their Walls:

DBL VSN Murals (Heidi Weiss and Chafe Hensley), Stamped Robin, 128 Portage Street. From their artists’ statement: “(Looking For) A Soft Place to Land,” is “a reflection on movement, connection and the quiet cycles of regrowth found in community… Set at the intersection of nature and city life, the mural invites viewers to consider the seasonal rhythm of Kalamazoo’s landscape.”

Maya James, Kalamazoo Transit Building, 526 N. Burdick Street. (See story.)

Ellen Vandermyde, Northside Association for Community Development, 622 N. Park Street. (See story.)

Amy O’Donnell-Lueth, Haymarket Building, 161 E. Michigan Avenue. In the style of a turn-of-the-20th-century wall sign, her mural concept reads “Make It A Great Day, Kalamazoo,” which is “a love letter to Kalamazoo…. Inspired by the city’s rich history and architectural texture, the mural leans into the timeless aesthetic of ghost signs, vintage signwriting, and mid-century typography… nods to the golden age of American sign painting, when craftsmanship and optimism lived hand-in-hand on brick walls and storefronts.”

Patrick Hershberger, a.k.a. Bonus Saves, Farmers Alley, 145 Farmers Alley. Based on “the age-old truth of ‘it takes a village,'” the untitled piece is a scene where “the older generation casts watching gazes on and over the future generation, out of hopefulness and protection…. Kalamazoo Neighborhoods are a vibrant tapestry of cultures, histories, and perspectives that together knit a rich community spirit. This concept focuses on the residents — those who have lived and will live and grow up within our shared spaces.”

Dania Grevengoed. A Grand Rapids muralist inspired by the natural world, Grevengoed’s work centers on native plants and the serenity of green spaces. She will paint the Main Street East Building, 251 E. Michigan Ave.