NEA Our Town grant will fund murals in downtown Kinston

A mural in downtown Kinston on the Art 105 building on West Blount Street. Photo courtesy of the Art 105 Facebook page.

Kinston’s reputation as an arts community will soon get another boost, thanks to a new grant.

The “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will fund a series of murals throughout the downtown area. A previous NEA grant provided the funding for the Kinston Music Park in 2012. 

Community Development Planner Marcia Perritt, who is helping administer the mural program for the City of Kinston, said some of the goals of the program are to help promote the things that make Kinston special and to help revitalize the downtown area. 

The murals will vary in size and visibility, Perritt said. Some will be in prominent locations, visible from main thoroughfares, while others will be tucked away as a fun surprise for those who take the time to look. Two of the murals will be civil-rights themed, highlighting Kinston’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. 

Currently, Perritt said, they are in the process of forming a Selection Committee that will oversee deciding on locations for murals, the selection of artists to paint them and approve the concept for each mural. 

“One thing that is really important is having a committee that is representative of Kinston’s diversity and demographics,” Perritt said. “We really want to shake it up a little bit and make sure that we have people who might be new to civic engagement on this board.” 

Perritt said she hopes to also include downtown stake-holders and those with an artistic background on the thirteen-member committee. Two seats on the committee are reserved for members of the Kinston City Council, and Perritt said Kristal Suggs and Felicia Solomon have agreed to serve in that capacity. 

Another task Perritt said she is currently working on is the identification of potential sites for murals. Factors such as the suitability of the wall material, environmental factors, location and owner consent all have to be considered. 

At this stage in the process, Perritt said there are two ways the community could aid the program. 

First, she said she hopes anyone who would like to serve on the select committee can submit an application by going to the program website (link).

Second, anyone who owns a building downtown that could be considered for a mural, or who has contact information for the owner of a downtown building, would be welcome to contact the city planning department with that information at planning@ci.kinston.nc.us. A preliminary owner permission form is also available on the mural program’s website.