Tuesday Started Last Friday … With a Tweet
Tuesday started last Friday … with a tweet from Taiwo Jaiyeoba, assistant city manager and director of planning, design and development for Charlotte:
We didn’t see the tweet until Saturday morning at 9:30AM. But, once we saw it, we knew what to do with it. We reached out to Sam Guzzie of Brand the Moth and asked, “Could you do this?”
- By 9:40AM, Sam told us, “I would 100% assemble an army of artists to do that.”
- By 10:30AM, Taiwo, his team and Sam were talking.
- By Sunday afternoon, BLKMRKTCLT was onboard and artists were being contacted. We were rolling.
- By 10:00AM Tuesday, paint was down on Tryon St.
- By 6:30PM Tuesday, 17 artists, leaders from Brand the Moth and BLKMRKTCLT and legions of supporting artists stood in triumph over their work.
Charlotte’s creative community is strong. We may not get the credit we deserve, but the Queen City’s creative prowess is mighty, deep and diverse. It’s infused with artists and creatives who love each other, who love this city and who are willing to invest their blood sweat, tears and considerable talents to prove that. That doesn’t mean we don’t see the cracks. That doesn’t mean that all is forgiven. That doesn’t mean the work is over because the paint is dry.
Tuesday was just one bold, bright step. There are so many more to take. Creatives are just getting started.
If you’re saying “I can’t paint murals, so I can’t help …,” neither can we. But, we spend our time getting to know people who can. And, we can carry paint and paintbrushes and ladders and bottles of water, which we did on Tuesday, with help from the City and many others listed in the article below who jumped in, took pictures and videos, brought food, etc.
What happened that day wasn’t magic. It was what it looks like when people with a wide array of skills, perspectives, backgrounds and abilities work together for a common purpose.
Tuesday ended with a tweet. Again it was from Taiwo Jaiyeoba. But, this time it wasn’t about imagining. It was about reality.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Do not be thrown off by the first tweet shown above. The mural will be in place at least until the next Tryon Street repaving.
Letter by Letter. Artist by Artist.
A guide for the Black Lives Matter street mural
 PHOTO CREDIT: Joshua Galloway (@thecreativegent_) Since the installation of the Black Lives Matter street mural on Tuesday, all parties involved — Brand the Moth, BLKMRKTCLT, Charlotte Is Creative and the City of Charlotte — have gotten questions about how the project came together, which artists were involved, the meanings behind their art and (most importantly) how to show love and appreciation to them.
Here’s how you can:
- Follow them
- Share them
- Tip them
- Buy their art
- Hire them and pay them fairly
- Provide them access to affordable workspace
- Advocate for them
To help you do that, we’ve compiled a complete letter-by-letter, artist-by-artist guide of the creatives and organizations involved in the creation of the BLACK LIVES MATTER street mural including Venmo/Paypal/Cashapp info for each of them so you can tip them individually! All but one of the letters also has a statement from the artist(s) that created it. This is a living document, so, as artists continue to send in information, we’ll keep it updated.
PODCAST: Sound from the Ground at the Black Lives Matter Mural
You know what the mural looks like. But, what did it sound like during the installation?
Andy Goh, co-producer of The Biscuit CLT Podcast, was onsite throughout the day, speaking with the artists, organizers and passersby. Looking at a picture, it’s easy to be amazed by the scope of the project. But, hearing the emotion in the voices of the people experiencing it as it was forming is another matter entirely. Click the image below to listen to a 25-minute podcast taken on the 200 block of S. Tryon Street on June 9, 2020.
 PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Twitty Photography (@shootbt)
This is what Charlotte creatives were able to do in 9 hours Tuesday.
Imagine what they’ll do in the months and years ahead if we stand with them.
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