A neighborhood group has received nearly $17,000 from a Small and Simple grant from the Neighborhood Matching Fund to paint a new mural on both sides of the North 63rd Street underpass, beneath Aurora Avenue.
The former mural at that site was constantly tagged by graffiti, and finally painted over by the city this summer.
The underpass is currently painted gray.
The group is just getting going, and plans to solicit input from the community sometime this winter or early spring, with the goal of finding an artist and deciding on a final design by May. The group is looking for additional donations – from money to in-kind labor. The Phinney Neighborhood Association is acting as the project’s fiscal agent, meaning all donations are tax deductible.
For more information or to get on the list to help out, email Syd Phillips at [email protected]. The project also has its own blog.
From Phillips:
We cannot guarantee that the new mural will not get tagged like the old one, but we have a two part strategy for dealing with tags and unwanted graffiti: First, we plan to use an an anti-graffiti coating to prevent paint from sticking to the finished mural. Second, we have a 5 year maintenance plan in place to address tagging, graffiti, or other maintenance issues.
The 63rd Street Mural Steering Committee is very excited about receiving the grant and we look forward to engaging with the community and artists. We hope the new mural is loved and treasured as much as the former one.
