Mural Alley
Madison Mural Alley was created by five artists and artist teams in collaboration with local Madison teens. The project originated from the Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood Planning process where City of Madison Planners asked Madison East Shopping Center owners Greg Rice and John Brigham if they‘d be open to hosting a community art and placemaking exercise to welcome community input for options. Their agreement resulted in a design charrette with members of the neighborhood at Hawthorne Library in August of 2016.
The project was organized by The Bubbler at Madison Public Library with funding from the Madison Arts Commission. Special thanks to the site property owners, EMI Enterprise Management, Gingrich Construction for the scaffolding, and countless volunteers and community members who helped to make this a reality!
Explore more about the murals below and check out albums of the project on Flickr:
BETTER TOGETHER
Flavia Zimbardi, Caetano Calomino + Henrique Nardi
in collaboration with
Dane County Juvenile Detention Center
This mural was designed and painted by Brooklyn-based Brazilian artist team Zimbardi & Calomino along with Madison-based Brazilian artist Henrique Nardi. The phrase “Better Together” comes from the idea that while there are many things that divide people in our society, from political viewpoints to fences in our backyards, it is good to be reminded that we can accomplish more when we work together. Nardi worked with teens at the Dane County Juvenile Detention Center on type-based workshops in relation to this mural.
See more photos of the making of this mural on Flickr.
SQUEEZE THE LIFE OUTTA LEMONS
Amos Paul Kennedy (Kennedy Prints)
in collaboration with
Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood + Madison teens
This mural was designed by Detroit-based artist Amos Paul Kennedy and painted by a huge number of volunteers and Bubbler staff along with artist Andy Villanueva, who took a lead role on the painting. The text all comes from multiple Teen Bubbler workshops ranging from songwriting to letterpress, with the main layer of text being written by James Horton Jr. (SooDoNiM), Jalen McCullough (Protégé the Pro), Corey Dean (Soup the Fifth), and Tyler Brunsell (Worthy).
CANTO A MADISON
Cultura Corazon, Richie Morales
in collaboration with
Dane County Juvenile Court Shelter Home
This mural was designed and painted by Guatemala- and Madison-based artist Richie Morales. Richie worked with teens at the Dane County Juvenile Shelter Home to interpret the joy of summer in Madison. Morales says, “I integrated their symbols of birds, flowers, and houses with my own of the black musician. In my experience, so much of what is celebrated as U.S. mainstream culture, music, and art has a black origin and is much of the time left unsung, so this is our ‘Canto a Madison.’”
Watch a fantastic timelapse of the making of Canto a Madison on Vimeo.
EAST SIDE OF MADISON
Pete Hodapp
in collaboration with
Capital High School
This mural was designed and painted by Viroqua-based artist Pete Hodapp. Pete worked with teens at Capital High School during multiple workshops to research and depict the history of Madison’s East Side. Portrayals include Ray-O-Vac workers, U.S. Sugar/Garver Feed, Effigy Mounds, Ella’s Deli’s Carousel, and the main image of Freddie Mae Hill, who was the first African-American resident of Madison to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
RUN THE WORLD
Lesley Numbers
in collaboration with
Goodman Community Center Girls, Inc.
This mural was designed and painted by Madison-based artist Lesley Numbers. Lesley worked with teens from Goodman Community Center Girls, Inc. to design a mural that was inspired by sources as varied as A Wrinkle in Time, March for Our Lives, and Beyoncé. Many mural-planning sessions revolved around current topics that the teens felt passionate about as well as conversations around the theme of what it means to take care of yourself, your environment, and one another.