How do you bring art into a neighborhood without sparking gentrification?
That question is on the mind of local artists and city staff working to get more public art into six historically-underinvested areas in Charlotte as part of the city’s Corridors of Opportunity initiative. One method might be to create art that reflects the people already living in the community.
As one example, look to local artist Nico Amortegui, who was busy installing a new plexiglass mural last week in the historically Black Oaklawn Park neighborhood, just north of uptown.
"I do love the sound of that drill," he said as he screwed the painted plexiglass into some wood beams facing the quiet neighborhood street.
He tightened a screw, and stepped back to examine the 6x8 mural, which is like a colorful reflection of the neighborhood where it resides.
He pointed to some neighborhood references, like an oak tree rising above a domed mausoleum and a little brick house with blooming bushes.
“It could be rose bushes. It could be azaleas,” he said.
He also painted two birds into the mural that seemed at home with the chorus of real, live birds in the surrounding trees.
"You can hear them right now," Amortegui said as the birds sang overhead. "It's amazing."
Those neighborhood references were no accident. Amortegui and his wife, Laine, had a lot of help from neighbors, as well as funding from a city grant.
The project began with resident involvement
The Amorteguis don’t live in Oaklawn Park, but their children attend the nearby Oaklawn Language Academy, and Laine Amortegui said she often walks through the neighborhood before pick-up and drop-off.
“We walk from the school a few blocks to Russell and Jennings (intersection), where they meet, every single day,” she said.
She had the idea to create the mural about a year and a half ago, but she knew she’d need support from residents. So she reached out to neighbors to see if they were interested. The answer was yes.
“I was super excited — super excited to bring it to our community,” said Tayala Brown, who lives down the street from the school with her husband and longtime resident, Kerrick Faulkner.
"I've been here pretty much all my life," Faulkner said as he relaxed on his front porch with his wife.
Brown and Faulkner said they were excited because the neighborhood had never had a piece of public art before.
That’s common in the Corridors of Opportunity, according to a city map showing arts and culture gaps in the city.
Faulkner admits some of their neighbors were skeptical, however.
“Some people were concerned regarding the art or what it could potentially look like, or who was going to do it — and the content,” he said.
Neighbors in Oaklawn Park have been sensitive to change and gentrification. Some have felt big investments life public art can signify new residents and gentrification on the way.
In 2020, the neighborhood sought and won a historic district designation from the city, which makes it harder for developers to knock down the neighborhood’s small mid-century brick homes.
Brown also said she wanted to ensure any art would reflect the community.
“We just wanted to make sure that because it was going to be in Oaklawn Park, that Oaklawn Park was represented in it,” she said.
Neighbors gave input through surveys and events
Over the next several months, Brown and Faulkner invited the Amorteguis to neighborhood meetings and barbecues, and the Amorteguis sent out a survey to residents with questions about the neighborhood.
“What are your fondest memories? What would you tell someone if they’re visiting and they don’t know anything about (the neighborhood) — what do you tell them? What adjectives do you use to describe your neighborhood? Things like that,” Laine Amortegui recalled.
The Amorteguis collected responses from 40 households, then worked to create a design from the things people wrote — like the trees, birds, nature and the mausoleum in the neighborhood’s historic cemetery.
“Everyone mentioned the mausoleum, so we knew that we had to put the mausoleum in there, because for them, they see that dome, and they know immediately, that’s home,” Laine Amortegui said.
For the mural’s dominant image, the Amorteguis selected the West African image of the Sankofa bird — with its feet facing forward, and its head reaching back.
“And what he symbolizes is that you only go back into the past for what is useful and necessary, for what will give you purpose. Otherwise, you’re moving forward,” Laine Amortegui said.
In the mural, the bird reaches back for a mulberry — which is the name of the street the mural is on.
A mural by the neighborhood, for the neighborhood
So far, reactions have been positive.
“I love it. I love it. I love it. I walk up that hill probably five out of seven days of the week, and I just — it’s only been there for a few days and I just enjoy it every time I walk by,” Brown said.
Faulkner said he was especially pleased with the process.
“The artist didn’t just come in and do what the artist wanted to do, they actually surveyed the neighborhood for their input,” he said.
Faulkner said he thinks that’s the right approach as the city funds more projects like this one in the six Corridors of Opportunity in the coming years.
So far, 40 projects have been completed, and a mobile symphony heading to underserved neighborhoods is in the works.
The next round of projects is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
