Destination Cleveland has issued a call to artists to help brighten the city's neighborhoods in the third round of its popular Murals Across the City program. Cleveland’s advocates are looking for three new mural designs to be installed around the city this year, says Destination Cleveland senior public relations manager Jennifer Brasdovich.

"This is our third round—we have nine murals that have been installed as a result of this program already," she says, adding that the Murals Across the City program demonstrates how public art beautifies neighborhoods, supports local artists, drives foot traffic to businesses, and creates new reasons for residents and visitors to explore Cleveland's diverse communities.

Murals Across the City Project - Kelle SchwabThe proposed artwork should embody the principles of what makes Cleveland unique, including the values of connection, creativity, and determination with a fun unpretentious attitude. The work should express Cleveland’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Artists with the chosen murals will each earn a commission of $5,000.

Each mural incorporates one of Destination Cleveland's four brand phrases:

• Always, unmistakably Cleveland
• The land of exceeding expectations
• World class experiences without the world class ego
• Under the right conditions, pressure creates diamonds

Destination Cleveland, the artists, and the building owners work together during the selection process.

"We'll go to building owners that we have contracted with and ask them, ‘which of these styles speaks to you,’” explains Brasdovich. “The building owner will then get to choose which muralist they'd like to work with.”

The three artists selected through the initial portfolio review will then create specific designs for their assigned building locations.

Spotlighting new neighborhoods
The mural program is deliberately designed to uplift and recognize Cleveland's underserved areas and less-traveled neighborhoods.

"Our focus is really on those outer neighborhoods—not necessarily the Downtown, Ohio City, or Tremont areas," Brasdovich explains. "Our goal for this program is really to get people into these outer neighborhoods, get them out there to see these murals so that they can experience the different neighborhoods and businesses that are out there."

Destination Cleveland works with neighborhood Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Cleveland City Council representatives to identify the ideal locations that may benefit from public art projects.

Murals Across the City, Thao NguyenBrasdovich notes that the murals do attract new and diverse audiences to Cleveland neighborhoods and leave a positive impression on those audiences.

Although formal impact studies haven't been done on the murals’ presence in neighborhoods, Brasdovich says Destination Cleveland has received positive anecdotal feedback from local business owners.

"The first year, we had several murals that were installed on the side of buildings with businesses," she recalls. "Just anecdotally, we spoke to those business owners who said, ‘Somebody came out because they saw the mural. They snapped a picture of the mural, and then they were like, oh, this business is attached. And they popped in.’"

Additionally, Brasdovich says the murals are meant to create cultural connections.

"Anything we can do as Destination Cleveland to get visitors and locals out into these neighborhoods and talking to the people who are in these neighborhoods—the business owners and the people who have lived there for decades who have raised their families there—those people are the heart of those neighborhoods," Brasdovich explains.

"Being able to [get] people out there and help them learn more about these cool, unique neighborhoods that exist in Cleveland is such a cool way to see the diversity and the authenticity of Cleveland come alive."

Technology advances
One of the biggest changes to the project has been a shift from how the murals are applied to the buildings, Brasdovich says.

"The first year, we actually hand-painted [the murals]—we had the artists come out and physically paint them on the buildings,” she recalls. “Last year, and this year, we're doing heat applied vinyl.”

The change not only makes the process faster, easier, and more accessible for many artists, Brasdovich says, the technical shift has opened doors for more artists.

“What we found is that not every artist can paint on a building, but a lot of artists can give us digital designs,” she explains. “You're getting digital artists, you're getting artists who are drawing instead of painting, and you're getting people who aren't traditional muralists who can give you an incredible piece of artwork. But maybe they just can't get out there and paint [the piece of art] on the side of a building every day.”

Brasdovich says they hope to have all three new murals installed by September.