Public art mural we recently completed for the Towson Public Library in Maryland. We received a grant for a large scale exterior mural near Baltimore. The architecture of the building was very interesting to work with. The RFP process took a long time, and we pitched several of our top artists to work on this unique public art piece.
Our agency usually works on large scale art projects in the private space. However, this was a public art grant that required a lot of committee approvals. As a result, there was an extensive vetting process. We submitted multiple artists that ended up as finalists. Finally, our artist Ryan Adams was chosen as the winning artist, and we were all honored by the selection!
We worked closely with the city of Towson and Ryan Adams on a piece to compliment the unique architecture of the library building. The building had 6 large panels that were all angled with about 3-4 planes on each one. As a result, it made the typical sketching & mock up process a bit challenging. Luckily, the artist was extremely talented and solved all the problems that we came across. The final design incorporated his iconic gem style with hidden words on each panel that related to the library. These words include: LEARN, CREATE, READ, EXPLORE, CONNECT & GROW. We hope the public has a fun time discovering the hidden messages in the future!
We had to fight a lot of rain days during this project. Therefore, we brought in some local assistants from the DC area to help speed up the mural painting process. We rigged our lifts with foam on the corners since we had to work very close to large glass windows. It’s always better to be extra safe when working with heavy machinery of this nature!
Public Art & Local Community
In creating public art murals, it’s extremely important to consider the local community. We understand that many cities want their artists to be local. However, we feel that cities with the most successful public art programs invite diverse artists from all over. As a result, it helps create a destination for art lovers. In addition, it brings worldly views to the city for the locals. Most importantly, artists need to learn about the city and integrate the community values into their artwork. Therefore, that’s the biggest difference between public art murals and just coming into a city and painting your personal work on a large scale.
We cannot thank Ryan Adams and the city of Towson enough for making this public art mural a reality. It was extremely smooth for a public art project of this scale! Also, thank you to his assistant Bee, local artists assistants from DC, the Towson public art committee (special shout out to Deidre) and all the wonderful locals who stopped by to chat. Thank you and we hope to be back in Towson for more projects in the future!
For public art mural project inquiries, please contact us at art@graffiti-artist.net. You can also call us at 646-801-6024.
