We're Getting a Mural, Thanks to Fresh Paint & RACC!

May 12, 2017

Thanks to Fresh Paint, our new partnership with the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), three artists will paint temporary murals on Open Signal's exterior west wall, a highly prominent site that faces Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. 

The first of these murals, by Molly Mendoza, celebrates our youth media programming, with a vibrant image of Portland youth engaging with the community through broadcasting and video media. Molly will start painting it in late May, and the mural will remain up through September. 

Artist Alex Chiu will add his mural in early October, while a third artist's work will be featured in early 2018.

“We have been working hard this year to reimagine our physical space and connect with the community in new ways through that space," said Open Signal Executive Director Justen Harn. "We are thrilled to work with RACC to explore new forms of public engagement.”

Fresh Paint is a pilot project of RACC’s Public Art Murals program in partnership with Open Signal. Fresh Paint artists must live in the Portland metro area; have a consistent studio or mural practice; and be emerging public artists, i.e., have never received commission from RACC for public art.

In exchange for their work, the artists each receive a stipend and are offered the opportunity to engage with a variety of Open Signal resources. 

“This program offers emerging artists the opportunity to work in the public realm—and, in many cases, on a larger scale—with the support of both RACC and Open Signal," said Peggy Kendellen, Public Art Manager at RACC. "The partnership provides artists additional resources that they would not typically have access to as they explore working in the public sector and incorporating new approaches and skills in their artistic practice and experience.”

Read more about RACC's Murals Program here.

Image Caption: Molly Mendoza's proposed mural for Open Signal's west wall.

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