Segments of the new “Beyond the Seen” mural project located at 555 N. High St. in the Short North. Credit: Olivia Hoffman | Lantern Reporter
This summer, nine local artists ventured “Beyond the Seen” to create a new Short North mural.
This year marks the fourth annual Short North Arts District Summer Spray live mural demonstration. The theme of this year’s mural — which covers a 1,300-square-foot wall located at 555 N. High St. — was “Beyond the Seen.”
The mural’s artists — Yorckh Jacome, Evelyn McBride, Hassan Qureshi, Arris Cohen, Cat Ramos, Amber Glendell McClendon, Juan Daza, Mack Paints and Khalia Carr — have been painting every weekend since July 13, and the project was finally completed Saturday.
As one of this year’s featured artists and a three-year Summer Spray participant, Carr said she appreciated that every artist was allowed to interpret the theme however they pleased.
“It’s cool to see everyone’s work in one space at one time,” Carr said. “Artists are thinking about what other people are painting and how their work will look in tandem with that, but it’s still super individualistic.”
Betsy Pandora, executive director of the Short North Alliance, said the experience offers local artists a rare opportunity to practice painting large-scale murals.
This year’s Short North Arts District’s Summer Spray mural, themed around the phrase “Beyond the Seen,” is located at 555 N. High St. Credit: Olivia Hoffman | Lantern Reporter
“We have deliberately focused on using it as an opportunity to give emerging artists a moment to practice mural-painting skills and contribute to beautifying an area of our neighborhood,” Pandora said.
Pandora said the first Summer Spray event was hosted in 2020 and was inspired by a residency program held by the Short North Alliance during summer 2019.
“We had 10 different artists participate in the residency program so that they could learn how to create art on scale,” Pandora said. “The next summer, we initiated the series called Summer Spray.”
Pandora said the “Beyond the Scene” mural will be on view until next summer, as a new group of artists will be chosen to paint a new mural over it.
Pandora said the project also provides an opportunity for participating artists to share a piece of themselves with the community.
Carr agreed. She said painting a new mural is always a rich learning experience, and this year was no different.
“I learn something every time I paint a mural,” Carr said. “What’s nice about it is that these are only up for a year, so you don’t have the pressure of painting a permanent mural and making everything perfect.”
Carr said she turned inward for inspiration, considering aspects of her personal identity while creating her portion of the mural.
“I was thinking about what parts of myself are ‘unseen,’” Carr said. “For me, being mixed-race, Asian American, I always related back to mermaids in that way. I wanted to paint something fun that goes along with what I already like to draw, but that still reflected on my own personal identity and fit the theme.”
Pandora said Summer Spray can propel an emerging artist’s career by teaching them not just how to paint on a broad scale, but also how to present their work and make it marketable.
This, Pandora said, is done through the accompanying Summer Spray gallery — located at 642 N. High St. — that allows participating artists to exhibit some of their other work for buyers and potential employers.
“With Summer Spray, we give artists who are participating the opportunity to exhibit,” Pandora said. “Almost every artist that we’ve had participate in the series ends up selling work. Some of them have actually gone on to be represented by galleries in Columbus.”
More information about Summer Spray, including how to apply for a spot painting next year’s mural, can be found on the Short North Arts District’s website.
