Fresh Paint, a temporary mural wall project, began in early 2017 as part of a new professional development initiative of RACC’s Public Art Murals programming. Three artists have been selected to paint a temporary mural on an area of the exterior west-wall of Open Signal facing the highly-visible Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Each mural will be up for a period of four months and then painted over in preparation for the next mural.

The pilot program for Fresh Paint is a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, a community-driven media arts center. Artist participation required living in the Portland metropolitan area, having a consistent studio or mural practice, and not having received any public art commission through RACC nor having created an exterior mural in the City of Portland. The selected artists will receive a stipend for their participation and are offered the opportunity to engage with the myriad of resources at Open Signal.

Alex Chiu is the artist currently on display. His mural is a nod to stop motion animation, one of the many media classes offered by Open Signal. In addition, he will be teaching a youth animation class this fall.

 

Illustrator Molly Mendoza was the first artist to participate. On display from May – September, her mural was a nod to Open Signal’s youth programs with a vibrant image of Portland youth engaging with the community through broadcasting and video media. The third artist will be featured in early 2018.