Pigeon Street: Past, Present and Future

In 2024, I was selected to create a public artwork for the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development in Waynesville, NC. To create the design for this mural, I conducted extensive research on the Waynesville community's oral history, culture, and current events. I also led a listening session with community members and stakeholders where we discussed the importance of the building as a historically black school during the Jim Crowe era as well as the community's vision for the future of Waynesville and the PCMDC. Using the information from the listening session and my research, I created a mural design that incorporated archival photography, local flora and fauna, and visual metaphors for unity, learning, and growth. Through multiple design feedback sessions, the stakeholders and I revised the design collaboratively and came up with a final design that the community felt represented their past, present, and future. To paint the design, I hosted a community paint day where neighbors of all ages were invited to participate in the painting of the polytab panels of the mural. After the painting was complete, I hired two local art students from the nearby University to assist me with the mural installation. As a symbol of collaboration and intergenerational unity, the school's alumni and current students worked together to cut the ribbon at the unveiling ceremony.