Peace, Love and James Brown.
That’s the theme for a funky new mural being painted on the side of Zion’s Barber Shop at 116 James Brown Blvd. not far from the Cole Phail mural of James Brown.
But it’s not one of Augusta’s well-known mural painters creating the piece on the wall. It’s a group of teens who’ve come up with their own ideas and are putting them in action as part of the Morris Museum of Art’s mural camp, June 5-9.
“This is our second year,” said Jason Craig, a mural artist and graphic designer, who is leading the camp with the support of Matt Porter and Victoria Bell of the Morris Museum of Art. “We’ve got two weeks with two different groups.”
Last year, there was one week of camp with 18 students. This year, it was expanded to two weeks of camp with 12 students in each session. The second session is scheduled for June 12-16. Both weeks sold out.
During the first day of camp, Craig spoke to the teens about different types of street art before launching into the plan for the wall on James Brown Boulevard. The adults are there to give suggestions and guidance, but the rest is up to the teens, he said. By the June 7, the mural was taking shape, and the teens could see their plan unfolding.
“I thought it would be fun,” said Kimani Harrison, who will be in the eighth grade at Evans Middle School in the fall, of the reason she was participating in the camp.
Plus, she liked the idea that this large-scale painting will be one that a lot of people will see because of its location.
The second mural that will be painted the week of June 12 is what Craig calls an “Instagrammable” one. It will be the place in town where people will want to snap a selfie in front of. It won’t be a pair of angel wings, but the concept will be similar.
Porter thanked Rafi Bassali, who owns the buildings, for the use of the walls, and Craig said Jimmy Bryant of Atomic Child in Fort Collins, Colo. sponsored the camp by providing a donation for the paint.
Mural space isn’t easy to come by, according to Bell. Plans are for additional mural camps, so any building owners with a wall they’d like to offer as mural space should contact the museum.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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