Rachel Sadon
A mural in progress on the side of Right Proper in Shaw. (Photo by Rachel Sadon)
Sure, the new Ben’s Chili Bowl mural was the star of MuralsDC’s 10th anniversary, with actual stars attending the official unveiling, but there are still another 10 new murals coming to alleyways and other sites around town in the weeks ahead.
Each year for the past decade, the Department of Public Works, in conjunction with the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, commissions new works as part of its ongoing attempt to prevent and erase graffiti.
“For 10 years, MuralsDC has enriched the city’s landscape with colorful monuments and provided original backdrops for everything from photo selfies, to music videos, to weddings,” said Arthur Espinoza, the CAH’s executive director of the Commission on the Arts and Humanities, which donated additional funds to make this year’s extra-large crop of murals happen. “But most important to CAH is that we have helped to build the portfolio of many of our local artists and provided them opportunities that have contributed to their success.”
Kate DeCiccio and Rose Jaffe have already gotten started at 624 T Street NW, on the side of Right Proper’s building (which was apparently once a pool hall that a teenage Duke Ellington visited). Alberto Clerencia, who hails from Madrid, is slated to get started tonight on a mural that promotes a message of “unity and cohesion” on the side of a condo building at 1210 V Street.
In the weeks ahead, another eight works will go up in six wards (though about half of the total are clustered around U Street and Shaw). Barring weather delays, all should be completed by mid-October, according to DPW spokesperson Nancee Lyons.
