LOWELL — Over the past four years, a nonprofit called Beyond Walls has helped transform the look and feel of Lynn by bringing in a collection of talented artists to paint eye-catching murals on 72 buildings across the city.
Now, officials in Lowell are trying to follow suit.
“Communities thrive when there’s art in public spaces,” said LZ Nunn, executive director of Project LEARN. “It really attracts people to come and explore a neighborhood; they might stop and have a bite to eat at a restaurant, see a mural and then maybe go to the park. Those are the types of experiences that we want to create in the community.”
Project LEARN, a local nonprofit that partners with the Lowell Public Schools to fund student programs, recently teamed up with Beyond Walls to commission a series of murals across the city after receiving seed funding from benefactor Nancy L. Donahue.
The project is part of ArtUp Lowell, a communitywide initiative to create neighborhood art for children and youth by leveraging the talents of local artists, entrepreneurs and educators.
Nunn said that the initiative was inspired by the Lowell Community Health Center’s ArtUp project, which was a collaboration between artists and donors to hang original artwork inside the center.
“We’ve had lots of conversations with students at Lowell High and across the public schools, and they’ve said that they would love to see more art in their neighborhoods that reflects our community,” she said. “So with this project, if it’s successful, we’ll be looking to install some kind of public artwork every year.”
Nunn was first introduced to the founder of Beyond Walls, Alfred Wilson, in January, but she said that they both recognized that the project needed to wait until the coronavirus pandemic began to subside, in order for artists to become available.
However, now that the economy is reopening, Nunn and other ArtUp Lowell officials have begun enlisting building owners with high visibility walls to be considered for the first round of murals.
According to Nunn, several building owners have already expressed interest in having artwork painted on one of their walls, though she said they are looking to attract more.
Among those who have volunteered is Michael Gallagher, a founding partner of Gallagher & Cavanaugh Attorneys-at-Law on Shattuck Street and one of ArtUp Lowell’s supporters.
“We were walking around our wall the other day and trying to figure out what would work there. It’s really a fun process to see how that could develop,” Gallagher said. “It’s one of the most exciting things that has happened in a while in this community, and to think that we can bring really first-rate art to a variety of venues throughout the city is really an encouraging kind of thing.”
Wilson told The Sun that he believes having large-scale murals created an increase in foot traffic in Lynn, which then gave nearby businesses an influx of customers. Nunn is optimistic that this project will have the same effect in Lowell.
“There really is substance to the creative economy, it’s real and people travel to see the art,” Wilson said. “People have traveled from Maine and Vermont, New York, New Jersey and elsewhere to see the art in Lynn, and when they come they spend the day, they grab coffee, they grab lunch and dinner, so there’s an uptick in business.”
While there is no exact timetable for when the first mural will go up, Nunn said their goal is to have at least two installed by the end of the summer.
“We’re just really excited to make this happen and create some beautiful and interesting spaces that really attract visitors and our own residents to go out and explore the city,” Nunn said.
Building owners in Lowell who are interested in having a mural painted on one of their walls are encouraged to contact Project LEARN at info@projectlearninc.org for more information.
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June 21, 2021 at 06:16AM
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ArtUp Lowell looks to bring dazzling murals to buildings across the city - Lowell Sun
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