Beauty and connection | Murals by Louisville artists bring culture, identity to the city

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If an identity of a city comes from its people and places it proudly presents, artists can become the ones responsible for celebrating that identity with the public.

Around corners, above eye levels and under bridges, murals add vibrancy to Louisville in hundreds of locations. The public artwork takes devotion, creativity and collaboration from numerous groups and people inspired to continue a never-ending project.

"Murals bring the sense of beauty and connectedness to a city," said Desmone Stepp with Louisville Visual Art.

"It established a look and identity that the people of the city can be proud of," muralist Jacob Duncan said. "It helps a city figure out who it really is."

Often Seen Rarely Spoken started six years ago by Duncan and four other friends as an art collective specializing in interior and exterior mural work. The group, which initially started in the graffiti scene, realized it could create art professionally.

The collective of artists have all been friends for more than a decade, so their interests were aligned from the start.

"It was just hitting the pavement in our own city and wanting to dress up our own city," Duncan said. "Make it look the best it can."

Often Seen Rarely Spoken has created many recognizable murals around Louisville, including artwork for Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC, a skyline mural in NuLu and a dog-inspired work on Bark Louisville.

"We like painting big," Duncan said. "We like being up in the air. We like creating the biggest visual impact we can, wherever we go. We just want to put paint where it isn’t."

The group recently completed a new Kentucky Derby mural at Paristown. Earlier this year, the muralists created artwork for the City of Shively at The Heritage building in Shively Park.

Public art is a focus for Stepp, who is the Outreach Coordinator for Louisville Visual Art. She has worked as an artist and volunteer with Healing Walls Project, an organization that promotes healing and justice through public art.

Stepp has led public mural projects for the nonprofit, a process that takes time as a vision, space and execution are formed together.

"The easiest way to think about it is having a sponsor, someone who wants to have the mural, has a reason for the mural, and then getting them in alignment with an artist who can serve those duties," Stepp said.

Stepp said it’s important for community members to be involved in the process as well. They’ll be the ones seeing the mural every day, so it’s important for the artwork to be collaborative.

"When it gets finished, people are able to see the different elements of themselves within the design," Stepp said.

Louisville Visual Art worked with artist Amie Villiger Harris on a mural at Mellwood Art Center, which is one of Stepp’s favorite murals in the city. Revealed last summer, the mural that’s more than 900 square-feet was commissioned by Catan Studio.

The mural shows Mother Nature blowing seeds across a map of Kentucky with flowers native to the state.

"This mural is so beautiful and captivating," Stepp said. "She used super bold vibrant colors. Each hexagon has the elements of Kentucky."

The necessity for a collaborative effort is also part of the creation process for Often Seen Rarely Spoken. Duncan said a client’s brand identity is combined with design that is eye-catching and draws attention. The back-and-forth of deciding on a design can be the longest part of the process, but once it’s approved, the artwork doesn’t take too long to become visually appealing.

"Things move pretty quickly once we’re boots on the ground making the artwork happen," Duncan said. "Most things are done within a week or less."

While there are many talented muralists around Louisville, Duncan said the artists don’t see each other as competitors.

"Everyone has the same pursuit," Duncan said. "There are plenty of walls to paint. Everyone is a piece of the broader puzzle of having a broader public art scene."

It’s easy to see and learn about the city’s public art scene. Louisville Visual Art created a mobile app in 2019 as a comprehensive resource to the city’s public art scene. The free app allows users to navigate the public art scene, find murals, museums, galleries, art studios and also features information about artists.

"It’s a place a person can go if they want to have a mural day and see all the murals in the city, they can do it through our app," Stepp said. "It’s really helpful to have one space where you can find all of this information."

New murals can also be submitted to the app’s map. To download the app, on iTunes click here. To download on GooglePlay, click here.

Murals continue to become a large part of Louisville’s cityscape. A mural of Muhammad Ali at the Chestnut Street YMCA in the Russell neighborhood was completed on April 26.

Stepp is working on a mural project at Alberta Jones Park. She said a portrait of Jones is going to be made into a mosaic mural of community residents.

Stepp hopes Louisville can continue to add more artwork throughout the city.

"It allows people to be proud of who they are, where they come from and where they live," Stepp said.

Related Stories:

• New mural of Muhammad Ali unveiled on side of YMCA building in Russell neighborhood
• Artists bring Derby mural to life in Louisville's Paristown arts district

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