(BLOOMINGTON) – The Bloomington Arts Commission (BAC) and the Banneker Community Center Advisory Council (BCCAC) announce that the City’s second Black Lives Matter street mural will be installed in downtown Bloomington on West Sixth Street between College and Walnut (the north side of the square) in the spring. Although this project was initially slated for installation in 2020, the onset of winter weather coupled with increasingly negative health indicators in the community prompted the project’s delay until the weather and public health conditions allow.
Painting dates for the second mural are tentatively scheduled for Saturday April 17, 2021, with Saturday May 1 as a rain date. These dates are pending approval in 2021 from the Board of Public Works, and may change based on COVID-19 safety considerations in place next spring.
The City’s first Black Lives Matter mural was painted October 24 on Elm Street beside the Banneker Community Center by a team of 83 community volunteers (wearing masks and physically distanced from one another) led by artists Christina Elem and Raheem Elmore. Mayor John Hamilton, City officials, and numerous other local leaders participated in the mural’s online dedication ceremony on November 13, which may be viewed on Facebook at this link.
Proposed and developed by the Banneker Community Center Advisory Council (BCCAC), a resident-led board that reports to the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, both Black Lives Matter murals have been approved by the Board of Parks Commissioners, Bloomington Arts Commission, City Council via resolution, and the Board of Public Works.
The BCCAC released the following statement: “The BCCAC recognizes and holds the moral, ethical, and political belief that Black lives matter everywhere and in all ways. Although we are an individual group and not affiliated with the Black Lives Matter-Bloomington working group, we join with them in a collective effort toward a new season of justice, advocacy, and equality.”
Funding for the first street mural came from unused municipal dollars originally budgeted and earmarked for the Black y Brown Arts Festival, which was canceled this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second street mural will utilize material (such as paint) already purchased for the first mural; additional funds needed will come from the Department of Economical and Sustainable Development.
