The mural by Annie Kate Jones, David Reed James, Amanda January and Mark Southerland that covered the windows of the Prhyme Steakhouse downtown is one of 16 murals that make up “Project Hope, Unity and Compassion. “.
The “Project Hope, Unity and Compassion†installation features a recreation of the “Black Lives Matter†mural that was painted on Greenwood Avenue prior to the June 20, 2020 rally by President Donald Trump.
TYPROS members paint a mural on a boarded up window in Decopolis ahead of Donald Trump’s rally. The murals are a project of Ahha Tulsa and the Tulsa City Center Coordinating Council.
“Project Hope Unity Compassion,†the unique public art project implemented in June 2020 by the Tulsa Downtown Partnership, received the Downtown Achievement Award of Excellence from the International Downtown Association at its recent conference.
The project began in response to former President Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020, when many downtown businesses put up storefronts for fear of potential violence as a result of the the event, which was seen by some as a flashpoint for political, social, racial and health issues.
More than 300 artists responded to a last-minute call for art, with around a dozen individual artists and artist teams tasked with creating murals that conveyed messages of hope, unity and of compassion on the plywood covering the storefronts of downtown Tulsa.
“Throughout history, downtowns and public squares have served as the foundation for society’s free speech and speech, and this effort was meant to underscore the resilience of the downtown core and our community. at a historic event, â€said Brian Kurtz, President and CEO of Downtown Tulsa. Partnership and former CEO of the Downtown Coordinating Council.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and stakeholders of the Downtown Tulsa Partnership, I express immense gratitude to our partner organizations and artists who have made this effort possible in such a short timeframe,†he said, “ and to our peer jurors across the country for recognizing the importance of public art in community conversations.
