McCallie Walls Mural Project artists Hollie Berry, atop scaffolding, and Ali Kay, in back at left, work in the 1400 block of McCallie Avenue.
Artist Anna Carll, seated, works on her mural in the 1500 block of McCallie Avenue.
Mural artist Ali Kay measures a section of her mural in the 1400 block of McCallie Avenue. It is part of the McCallie Walls Mural Project.For muralist Ali Kay, being one of five artists in the first phase of the McCallie Walls Mural Project is a chance to do something she’s never done: Create a mural completely her own. Most of her work is done in homes or businesses for customers.
“I’m used to being given an assignment for a client who has a space in mind or an idea, and I have to come up with something, so this was unique. It made me rethink it a couple of times.”
Her mural – a smiling young person in a pilot’s cap and goggles – greets inbound commuters traveling McCallie Avenue near the intersection with Holtzclaw Avenue.
“I wanted something that, when people saw it from a distance, it made them smile and feel good.”
Other artists in phase one are Hollie Berry, Miki Boni, Anna Carll and Jarred Green. Project creator and curator Kevin Bate says he will begin painting his mural this week, signaling the beginning of phase two of the project Bate hopes will carry on for years.