Local artists collaborate on new Black Lives Matter mural

Staff photo

A group of local artists collaborated over the weekend to create a new mural in Fayetteville paying tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The mural, located at the southwest corner of College Avenue and Dickson Street, was created by artists Sharon Killian, Morgan Bame, Octavio Logo, Jody Travis Thompson, Hannah Newsome Doyle, and Joëlle Storet. It was completed on Saturday during an ‘In Living Color’ event organized in part by student-athletes from the University of Arkansas.

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The event on Saturday included a voter registration table, guest speakers including remarks by Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, food trucks, music, raffles, and other festivities.

The colorful new mural is titled “No Justice, No Peace,” and depicts recent protests of systemic racism and police brutality that have erupted in recent weeks, sparked by the deaths of Minnesota resident George Floyd, Louisville resident Breonna Taylor, Atlanta resident Rayshard Brooks, and other black Americans who have also been killed by police in recent years.

Protestors depicted in the mural hold signs reflective of those found at protests that have been held across the country over the last several weeks, with “Black Lives Matter,” “Until Justice Rolls Down,” “How May Weren’t Filmed,” “The Children are Watching,” “Black Trans Lives Matter,” and other words painted in bright yellow letters visible from Dickson Street.

The concept for the mural work was created by Killian and Bame, and the artists mentioned above along with a handful of others from the community came out to help complete the new mural last week.

See more photos of the new work below.