We made a mistake.
Now, we’re seeking absolution for improper attribution.

When you’ve committed to sharing the stories of the Charlotte creative community and doing what you can to lift up the people behind the work, you can’t take plays off.

But, when I posted a picture of my daughter celebrating a collection of NoDa murals on Instagram on Sunday, Dec. 22, I didn’t take that extra few minutes needed to properly attribute the work to the artists who painted them. And, Southern Tiger Collective called me out on it … as well they should have. We’ve spent a lot of time covering murals in 2019 and the people behind them. But, I dropped the ball on this one.

Over the past year of publishing the Biscuit, we’ve reported on Charlotte’s mural scene in many ways. We’ve written articles on the business of muraling, new murals in East Charlotte by Georgie Nakima and the team of Sharon Dowell and Irisol Gonzales and a generational grandfather/grandaughter team who have restored a Coca-Cola mural Uptown. We’ve interviewed Sam Guzzie of Brand the Moth for our podcast and played around with the joy of murals in our videos. And, we’ve added a dozen or more murals to our Where Are We in CLT features, most recently Alex DeLarge’s Baby Yoda on the side of NoDa Market & Deli and Abari.

While we’re proud of all of that, it doesn’t really excuse not taking the few moments it would have taken to carefully tag the artists who made the work I shared. And, that brings up a bigger point: For our mural scene the survive and thrive, the artists working hard to build it need to be paid what they’re worth. For them to be paid, they need to be known.

And, that’s where we — and you — come in.

Taking photos of murals is a thing in Charlotte now. All of us — and, I’m raising my hand big time here — need to help out by tagging the artists who created the work we thought enough of to share, as well as the location.

Beyond payment muralists deserve, they are making our city more colorful and exciting. They are pushing art out into everyday life. Today, we can reasonably expect to be surprised by art around every corner and on any given wall. These creatives make a drive, walk, bike or train ride around Charlotte more exciting. If you don’t see something today … just wait a few weeks. For that, they deserve our appreciation, our recognition and our thanks. They deserve to be known by name.

So, my thanks to Alex DeLarge and Southern Tiger Collective for being good critics and reminding me that the good done in the 364 days previous can be undone by a careless moment on day 365. I appreciate the “love tap.” Remembering why we started The Biscuit is the perfect way to prep for 2020. We’ll do you proud.

Plus, you gave Charlotte Baby Yoda for Christmas. For that, you deserve a parade.

Tim Miner
Editor & Co-Publisher of The Biscuit

Please check out, follow and support the artists whose work is featured in the photo above.
2019 was a big year. 2020 will be bigger.

Southern Tiger Collective, Alex DeLarge, Gus Cutty, Dustin Moates and John Bates.