Last year, four local artists created a mammoth mural that encompassed the entire Dunham Family Gallery at BIG ARTS. “Birds, No Words” was as tall as a person and as long as a football field. It was such a huge success that BIG ARTS is doing it again, says Marketing Director Meghan Govoni.
“In August, we're going to have four different artists in the Dunham Family Gallery collaborating over the course of six weeks painting and drawing all the walls, and the fun part about this is people can stop in and see the artists work sporadically and watch the exhibit come together,” said Govoni.
This year’s project is called “Currents,” and the muralists will be BIG ARTS Gallery Director Wilson McCray, Mariapia Malerba, Shah Hadjebi and Macy Noll.
Florida SouthWestern State College Digital Arts Professor Dahye Kim will add digital projections to the final product.
“Now they're not here every day all day long,” Govoni noted. “Sometimes you can walk in and there's two of them here. Sometimes there's one of them, sometimes all four of them are here. They do give updates when all four of them are going to be working together and we do post that on our social media pages.”
Watching the mural take shape over time is enthralling and viewing the completed artwork is magical.
“We do a closing reception, so after the artwork is completed and the gallery is done, everyone comes in to see the final product and it's really fun,” Govoni added.
The closing reception will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.
Follow BIG ARTS on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
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Last year’s mural project, “Birds No Words,” was very popular, said Govoni.
“People loved coming back week after week to see the progress,” Govoni observed. “It was well received. We had a great time.”
For more on artist Mariapia Malerba, read/hear:
- "BIG ARTS mural 'Birds, No Words,' an organic, spontaneous, collaborative project;" and
- "Alliance for the Arts exhibit 'Moving Roots' explores artist Mariapia Malerba's quest for creative purpose."
For more on Macy Noll, read/hear, "Fifth-year FGCU student Macy Noll installing 'Knowledge in Motion' mural in campus library."
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
