Press Release: Munta Mpwo Paints New Mural at Open Signal

Munta Mpwo Paints New Mural at Open Signal

The artwork is the sixth to be commissioned as part of the Fresh Paint temporary murals program, in partnership with the Regional Arts & Culture Council

PORTLAND, OR. - October 4, 2019 –  A new mural is currently going up on the exterior wall of Open Signal: Portland Community Media Center on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard at Graham Street in Portland. Titled bboys make some noise, artist Munta Eric Mbungu Mpwo’s mural will remain on display through April 2020.

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mpwo is now based in Portland. He cites comic books, breakdancing and hip hop as their sources of inspiration.

“I’m a breakdancer and have been doing it for about 20 years,” Mpwo says. “I have connected with many different cultures and backgrounds through dance. To help motivate the next generation, I would like to dedicate [this mural] to all dancers to show what the power of dance can bring to the soul.”

This is the sixth temporary mural created in the last two and a half years as part of the Fresh Paint program, a partnership between Open Signal and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC). The goal of the program is to provide emerging artists of color the opportunity to paint a mural in a high- traffic setting for the first time, helping artists learn new ways of creating art in public spaces, and to build their portfolio.

For a time-lapse video with the painting of the previous Fresh Paint mural — Let’s Talk by artists Maria Rodriguez, Bizar Gomez and Anke Gladnick — please visit YouTube. The next artist to be featured in this program will be Limei Lai in April 2020.

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Contact

Yousef Hatlani, Marketing Manager
Open Signal: Portland Community Media Center
yousef [at] opensignalpdx.org
(503) 536-7622

Jeff Hawthorne, Director of Community Engagement
Regional Arts & Culture Council
jhawthorne [at] racc.org
(503) 823-5258