The Wall = Creation begins with an idea and a blank canvas…
If you happened to go past the corner of Third and St. Clair last Friday during Urban Nights, you may have noticed something out of the ordinary taking place. Friday night marked the exciting kickoff of the project that has become known as “The Wall,” a large-scale wall mural being done by artist Josh Flohre, along with the help of several friends and fellow artists.
This is a project I’m extremely excited to be part of, due in large part to the amazing and diverse group of individuals and organizations that have played key roles in making it happen. Richard Kaiser of The Ohlmann Group, the project manager and creative genius behind the idea, enlisted the talent of local artist Josh Flohre, and together they have come up with something big…literally: a giant wall mural in the heart of downtown Dayton that will pay tribute to the diverse talents of local performing artists. In conjunction with Activated Spaces, and due to the generosity and graciousness of The DP&L Foundation, Anne Thompson of Burton Law, The Downtown Dayton Partnership, and Brian West, the building owner, the project kicked off September 16, 2011 and will continue over the next six to eight weeks.
The opening weekend of The Wall project involved a lot of planning and prep work, as the artists gathered equipment and began prepping the wall for what will become one of the most impressive- and largest- wall murals in the city of Dayton. Scaffolding was put in place, old signs and nails were removed, and the wall was brushed with shop brooms and power washed to remove loose debris. Josh, and fellow artists Tim and Eric, then began the detailed process of marking the wall into sections and applying background paint. Shades of blue, brown, black and white will serve as a backdrop of geometric shapes for the large-scale photographic images that will be incorporated into the mural over the duration of the project. The wall will be adorned with images of local performing artists from the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, Dayton Philharmonic, Muse Machine, DCDC, Human Race Company, Dayton Theatre Guild, and the Dayton Jazz Orechestra. Images for the wall have been generously donated by the highly talented Andy Snow, President of Andy Snow Photography.
I’ll be photographing and documenting the process as Josh and his crew work over the next several weeks, and I’ll be posting regular updates and pics on the Activated Spaces site (www.activatedspaces.org). If you’re downtown, stop by and check it out – if you’re not downtown, make a point to get there!
