LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (KOIN) — Local artists are adding a splash of color to Lincoln City with four new ground art murals. The non-profit Activate Arts commissioned the project in hopes of bringing the community together virtually through art.
Activate Arts founder Crystal Akins says the original plan was to have the community come out and participate in the project, but when the coronavirus pandemic closed parks she quickly had to change plans.
She is currently working on the first of four ground murals coming to the central Oregon Coast. Located at the Regatta Park musical instrument playground, her mural now allows the community to participate virtually.
“This mural is called ‘Vibrations.’ It is an improvisational mural where I asked folks in Lincoln City to send me their songs from childhood,” Akins said.
Akins posted to a video to social media asking people to submit a total of 100 childhood songs, so that she can create a playlist to listen to for inspiration as she paints her mural.
“When I first started playing the playlist blasted out.. ‘Walking on Sunshine,’ so like the center is this bright sun,” Akins said. “And then the next song was ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, so there’s kind of like this blasting rainbow I painted that leads us to the playground’s instruments.”
As of Monday, Akins has a total of 40 songs. She is asking for more people to submit their favorite childhood song to help her complete the “Vibrations” ground mural.
A second ground mural is in the works at the beach access point in Nelscott. The piece called “Octopus at Nelscott Reef” was created by sculptor and muralist, Todd Beaty– with the help of some young artist.
“It’s a great thing to be able to pull these kids out into a public space and to be able to make some art,” Beaty said. “It’s so important to have arts education to give these kids something to let their imaginations run wild with.”
The “Community Mural Project” is organized in partnership with the Lincoln City Parks and Recreation Department. The city’s parks and recreation director Jeanne prague says with the department’s tight budget due to the pandemic, she is grateful that Activate Arts offered to do the murals at no cost to the city.
“Crystal was able to do all the fundraising for it… The artists are volunteering their time and I would have to say for murals valued at $28,000 … Thank you for bringing them here to Lincoln City,” Sprague said.
Two more ground art murals will pop-up in the coming weeks in Lincoln City, one at the Community Center Plaza and another at 51st and Taft. A virtual dedication for the murals will also be held on August 15th. To find out more about Activate Arts, click here.
