Students Bring Life Back to Abandoned Main Street Storefronts with Mural Project

Main Street is getting a little more colorful thanks to some local high school students.

The Main Street Revitalization Task Force — a joint project from the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and the city of Little Rock — has made a lot of strides in the past few years. But as restaurants and businesses and art studios fill up the historic buildings along Main, they stand in stark contrast to the aging, yet-to-be-filled structures.

The latest effort by the task force helps bridge the gap in a project called Art in Motion. This project offered four local schools the chance to create small-scale murals to be displayed in storefronts that are waiting for renovation.

“The idea is to give the abandoned properties a fresh look that makes the street appearance on these storefronts more welcoming,” said Carol Worley, chairwoman of the Main Street Revitalization Existing Structures Task Force. “With the murals in place, the buildings will have art as a street view instead of an empty building.”

High school students from Central, Parkview, Hall and North Little Rock each received 18-foot canvasses and $250 in art supplies. Their works were recently installed in building fronts along the Creative Corridor portion of Main Street.

According to Worley, when rehabilitation on one of these building begins, the murals will find new homes in other abandoned buildings.

For updates on all things downtown, follow the Downtown Little Rock Partnership on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

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