The Charlottesville Mural Project Selects Richmond Artists for Newest Wall

by | Jun 6, 2018 | ART

Herr and Doughty, Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative

The Charlottesville Mural Project recently announced that VCUArts alums Emily Herr and Eleanor Doughty will curate its latest mural as the project ramps up its efforts to bring top-tier muralists to the city. Selected by a panel of Albemarle High School students, local residents, and arts advocates, the pair began work on the retaining walls at Barracks Road June 5 and plan to finish the mural by June 9. Barracks Road is a designated Albemarle County entrance corridor and connects one of the city’s busiest shopping centers to rural Albemarle County.

According to a press release from the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, this mural project is a partnership between The Charlottesville Mural Project, The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, Albemarle High School, The County of Albemarle, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and local residents.

Herr and Doughty will work together on the design and execution of the mural, which will cover both the Georgetown Road and the Hydraulic Road retaining walls at Barracks Road. The two artists met in their freshman year at VCUarts and were roommates for several years. 

Doughty graduated with a BFA in illustration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2013 and her work has been featured in publications such as Graphite Magazine, VICE, and the Boston Globe, and Herr, a Richmond native, and fellow VCUarts graduate, has been creating murals locally and abroad under the name HerrSuite for the past 10 years. Her latest project, a traveling mural project called “Girls! Girls! Girls!”, challenges stereotypical depictions of women in public art.

Emily Herr

In a 2017 interview with RVA Mag she said that the goal of the project is, “to show real actual women and everything that entails, you’re not necessarily happy, not necessarily sexy, and then also, better representation of people of different body types, different races and skin colors and also, ages and disabilities.”

The Charlottesville Mural Project and has been steadily increasing its commitment to public art in the city over the last year. The most recent piece was curated by Detroit muralist Kyle Danley in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville and celebrates the working class history of the Belmont community, and was completed last weekend. In September 2017 Chicho Lorenzo, a muralist from Madrid, Spain, was selected to create a mural on a massive retaining wall at Barracks Road and features his vibrant illustrations inspired by Spanish art and culture.

Image may contain: 2 people, sky and outdoor

Kyle Danley, Belmont neighborhood

The Charlottesville Mural Project was the subject of some controversy last Autumn after a mural was proposed that would engage the terrorist attack that took place in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017. The mural was gifted to the city by world-famous artist Shepard Fairey, but its construction was ultimately put on hold after being heavily criticized by community members who said that the mural did not adequately address the complicated narrative of the events that transpired on August 12, or represent the communities to whom the attack was directed.

 

Daniel Berti

Daniel Berti




more in art

Waynesboro Wakes up: What Happens When a Town Believes Again

There’s nothing quite like being in the wilds of Virginia. Like Johnny Cash said, “I’ve been everywhere, man” — but there’s a particular kind of comfort I only feel when I’m traveling within the Commonwealth. And it doesn’t get much more Virginia than heading up into...

Review | ‘SMOKE’ at Firehouse, Fire in my Belly.

Once again, a trip to the Firehouse Theatre has found a way to send me home with a boiling pit of emotions churning in my gut and fiery rants on the tips of my fingers. Art is made to provoke, not to placate, and this is what I signed up for. SMOKE, the current...

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 8 Sure Hand Signs aka Ross Trimmer

“Ross is an incredible asset to this city. He’s helped small businesses stand out with that much-needed glow—always delivered with a sharp eye and a soft touch. He can make your coffee shop look classic or your record store look clean and intentional. He’ll knock out...

Peter Cochrane | Where the Image Hesitates and the Self Disappears

"You have to be delusional to be an artist." That’s how Peter Cochrane closes our conversation. We’re sitting across from each other in a quiet Richmond studio, the air thick with pollen and thought. The line lands not as a punchline but as a thesis offered without...