A group of artists and volunteers will be painting new colorful murals in Wichita’s Douglas Design District this weekend--if the weather cooperates.
Sixteen murals are planned for buildings along East Douglas Avenue. An artist collective known as Brickmob will paint a 20-foot mural featuring a brain over a corner of the Alzheimer’s Association building.
"We’re hoping to not only help the aesthetics of the Douglas Design District and everything that art community is about here in town, but also raising that exposure for the Alzheimer’s Association and the disease," says Renee Duxler, development director of the Alzheimer's Association of Central and Western Kansas.
She says Alzheimer’s has personally affected the families of four of the artists, so this project is personal.
“We’re incredibly excited and honored to have such a talented group of artists celebrating their loved ones, as well as the work that we do, in this way,” Duxler says. ‘’I’ve seen the plans for the mural, and the anticipation of just how touching and inspiring it is going to be is intense.”
The mural painting is part of the annual Avenue Art Days, an initiative to revitalize this three-mile stretch of locally owned businesses. This year’s theme is “Peace. Love. Art” in honor of two Douglas Design District business owners who died last year: Tanya Tandoc, of Tanya’s Soup Kitchen and Angie Mallory, of The Donut Hole.
A celebration and mural reveal is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 1, starting at East High School.
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Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar.
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