Location Sought for the 2024 South Cumberland Mural Project
After a successful mural installation on Tracy City’s Goat Pen Hostel in summer 2023, the Grundy County Mayor’s Office was awarded another Tennessee Arts Commission grant to add to local placemaking efforts in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Tennessee’s South Cumberland Tourism Partnership (TSCTP), which is preserving the region’s culture through a multi-year oral history project, has been tasked with implementing the grant and engaged public art nonprofit DMA-events to project-manage the mural installation.
DMA will oversee the creation of a mural that pays homage to the South Cumberland plateau’s past, grabs the attention of locals and visitors and provokes interest in visiting the audio sites. The boundaries of this project extend community-wide, and the project will cultivate a sense of community pride in a new place.
DMA is seeking highly visible walls within the South Cumberland region that are brick, cinder block or stucco. All interested parties should email DMA president Kristin Luna at <kristinluna@gmail.com> with their business name and location, as well as a photo of the wall and its approximate size. The deadline to apply is Nov. 15, 2023. Factors that will weigh into the final location decision include visibility that will achieve maximum project impact, as well as wall size, condition and material.
TSCTP is a newly formed nonprofit organization working on both near and longer-term plans to help prepare the region to welcome visitors. The brainchild of Grundy County Mayor Michael Brady, the TSCTP identifies and promotes responsible tourism opportunities that can create and sustain new local businesses and local jobs.
The larger scope of the partnership’s oral history project centers on highlighting the region’s rich history that includes lived experiences of the Cherokee Nation, Swiss immigrants, “Zebra Law” convicts, civil rights activists at the Highlander Folk School and coal miners throughout the South Cumberland Plateau. Some of these stories are at risk of being lost forever. The tourism commission aims to engage visitors with the tour and oral history components of the project so they can better appreciate the roots of the vibrant community. In addition to directing people to historical sites that are oftentimes overlooked, the project will facilitate a more engaging and thorough recollection of the past.
Journalists Kristin Luna and Scott van Velsor started 501(c)(3) DMA-events in May 2018 as a catalyst to provide free access to art to rural communities throughout the South. All murals DMA has produced can be found here: <http://bit.ly/DMAMurals>;.
The Tennessee Arts Commission offers a variety of distinct funding opportunities to encourage participation in arts activities in communities across all 95 counties. By purchasing the arts Tennessee Specialty License Plate, you are supporting organizations, schools, communities and public art projects like these across Tennessee.