352walls has given downtown Gainesville its latest touch. Now, the city is celebrating its improved walls with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The ribbon cutting will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Feb. 26 as part of Art Splash, a celebration of 352walls.
Guests can participate in a large sing-a-long, creative activities and a tour of the murals on the buildings surrounding Lot 10, located at 100 SW First Ave.
352walls is an art initiative to beautify Gainesville’s least pretty yet whimsical walls and buildings with hand-painted murals.
The project redevelops the urban area by adorning the buildings with elements of interest in the art form and attracting people to businesses in downtown Gainesville.
“We were looking at downtown because it is the heart of town,” said Iryna Kanishcheva, curator of the 352walls project. “When people come here, it is the first thing they see.”
The contemporary, urban art project has educational means and many benefits, Kanishcheva said. It is also the first international art project in Gainesville.
Kanishcheva began working on the art initiative by giving a presentation to Visit Gainesville and the City of Gainesville explaining how beneficial the project would be to the city.
Originally from Ukraine, Kanischeva travels a lot seeing these kind of projects in the U.S. and Europe.
The City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department has a number of areas they oversee, and public art is one of them.
The cultural affairs department worked with the project coordination by doing day-to-day logistics of the project.
Transporting the artists to the city, providing lodging, and getting their equipment and supplies to the art site.
“(The idea) came from the citizens of the community,” said cultural affairs interim manager Russell Etling. “This concept of using urban art as a vehicle for redevelopment of our community, economic development and a source of community pride.”
The goal of the project is to attract visitors to Gainesville to see the murals and participate in the many things Gainesville has to offer, Etling said.
But the project serves another purpose besides attracting visitors.
“Public art at its core uplifts the human spirit, and we feel like the project does that as well,” Etling said.
The international artists who came to work on the project are recognized experts in the field.
“They painted murals all around the world,” Etling said.
The artists are from countries like Ukraine, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Spain and Portugal.
“It’s not just international artists, but internationally famous and internationally acclaimed artists,” Kanishcheva said.
Kanishcheva selected all the artists related to their experience, style and technique.
“I chose artists who have followers and who can bring Gainesville attention,” Kanishcheva said. “The artists all had to be internationally known.”
While 20 artists applied, only 13 were selected.
Half of the artists were regional artists and the other half were international.
A few of the selected artists worked on collaborations and created a total of 10 murals.
Now, the motto of the program is to experience the art.
“We like to encourage people to actually go out and see the walls,” Etling said. “Take a journey.”
