For the first time, Martinsville officials could take a more hands-on role in the planning and implementation of mural projects.
The city council on May 14 will talk about regulations that could determine the final say about mural projects throughout the city.
Community Development Director Keith Holland suggested the proposed changes to the city council, which include Architectural Review Board and Arts and Cultural Committee oversight of proposed murals.
“As we looked at it … we thought it would be best to put down some policies,” Holland said.
Holland cited the summer months as the prime time for muralists to pursue projects. Most recently, the city received an application for a possible mural meant to commemorate the artist’s deceased loved one. That request was the impetus for the city’s proposed new rules.
He said he used other cities with murals as a blueprint, something Holland said is new ground for Martinsville.
“We got something from Lynchburg,” Holland said, adding that other communities like Staunton provided guidance.
In the past, Holland said that the city’s handling of murals was largely hands-off. Traditionally, organizations would commission works by contacting muralists. One such example is “Growing Hope,” the newest addition to Martinsville’s mural collection.
“Growing Hope,” at 37 Church St., was jointly commissioned by the Harvest Foundation and the Martinsville Henry County Chamber of Commerce last summer. It depicts several hands of different races reaching for flowers.
[Disclosure: The Harvest Foundation is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
“At that time, we did not have to go through any approval process with the city of Martinsville,” said Chamber Director Brenell Thomas.
“It was our intent to create an opportunity for everyone in the community to [take part],” Thomas said, adding that the process and the final work was meant to represent Martinsville’s diversity.
Jon Murrill, the artist behind “Growing Hope,” echoed Thomas.
“The strength of these projects is … being able to interact with the community,” Murrill said. “A community can take ownership of [a mural] and say not only is that a piece I appreciate, it’s also one that I helped make.”
Thomas said Piedmont Arts recommended Murrill, a longtime artist-turned-professional muralist based out of Roanoke.
“A lot of the work I have done in the past have been private work for restaurants, breweries and businesses,” he said. “I do a lot of murals in cities like Blacksburg and Martinsville.”
Business has been good enough to allow Murrill to make the transition to full-time muralist, something he believes is indicative of the mural’s growing popularity.
“Once that piece is done, it’s no longer mine, it becomes a part of the community,” Murrill said. “That shared ownership is a really beautiful thing.”
This is a sentiment shared by the handful of other artists who have also contributed to Martinsville’s catalog of murals. From a giant elephant to a visual reminder of bygone communities, Martinsville is no stranger to murals depicting a myriad of topics.
Eight murals make up the core of Martinsville’s collection. This collection caught the eye of the Appalachian Mural Trail, which made Martinsville a member in 2019. The trail is a series of communities in states like Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia that are known for their murals.
“Elephants on Parade,” commissioned in 2009, is the oldest of the murals in Martinsville’s collection.
“We had to get it done through stages,” said Aleen Wilson, one of the muralists who worked on the 2015 project Uptown Connection Trail.
The mural depicts a solitary biker and urges passersby to travel the Uptown Connection Trail, a 0.6-mile trail that leads to the longer 4.5-mile Dick and Willie Passage Rail Trail.
Wilson said there was interest in advertising the trail using unconventional methods, and a mural seemed like the perfect solution.
Wilson worked on the trail with her partner, Amanda Donley, who’s also the artist behind the murals outside the Baldwin Building on West Market Street. Donley said her piece depicts the former African American neighborhood that once stood in the area. She packed her work with hidden meanings, something she said muralists tend to do in their work.
Donley wanted to pay a special homage to the murals’ subject.
“There’s a border along the top and bottom edge of the three pieces,” she said. “The FAHI Museum there … they call it the Baldwin Block. The border on the piece is a traditional African pattern. I liked the way it looked and … my idea was that it represented comforts of home.”
Donley said speaking to the public in this matter is why communities seek murals.
“It makes people more curious about their own communities,” Donley said. “It draws people in.”