Spokane just got a lot more colorful this year; check out these new murals that have come out | Art and Culture | Spokane | Pacific Northwest Inlander

ppublic murals do so much for a community. They strengthen a place’s local identity, celebrate history and culture, encourage economic vitality and simply beautify our urban spaces. Murals also bring joy. Think of the joy you get when, simply in the course of your day, you suddenly see a colorful new piece of art on the side of a building, an underpass, or a retaining wall that once was.

Summer has been a great time for mural painting around Spokane, and the following new installations are definitely worth a detour.

SOUND WALL
711 N. Helena St. (behind Ironside Apartments)

At a confluence of nature and urbanization, a 700-foot-long concrete wall brings a burst of color and upbeat energy to an up-and-coming area of ​​East Spokane. The newly painted “Sound Wall Mural” boasts the work of more than a dozen local artists, thanks to an effort led by artist Karli Fairbanks.

Named for the purpose of the structure it sits on – to dampen train noise along a set of tracks that run past the new Ironside Apartments – the wall runs east to west near where the Iron Bridge pedestrian and cycle path cross the Spokane River.

Working through some of the hottest weather in July and August, the group finished painting just in time for a mural unveiling party on August 28.

“The theme grows together, and you know the location is right next to the river—its end is 50 feet from the Spokane River—and I wanted to have a sense of creative collaboration and nature,” says Fairbanks.

With a simple color palette of coral pink, pale peach, cornflower blue and a toned lime green, each artist painted alternating panels on the wall, reflecting their unique style.

“Each artist only had two colors to work with, which is a fun creative challenge, but also makes the mural look really cohesive, even though there’s a bunch of different styles built into it,” says it.

Fairbanks painted about half of the wall herself due to the large size of the project. It took fifty gallons of paint to complete the entire mural, which she estimates covers more than 5,200 square feet.

“It’s a crazy amount of paint,” she says. “I’ve never done anything this big.”

Another massive mural is taking shape in the same area as Spokane artist Ellen Picken works to bring her colorful, geometric, four-story-tall design to part of the Ironside Apartments. As of last week, the scaffolding was being worked on. (CS)

LONGBOTHAM BUILDING MURAL
24 W. Main Ave. (west side of Café Coco)

On a Saturday night, West Main Avenue is the place to be for those looking for live music, dancing, drag or a bar night, but during the day it’s turned into a great place to see quite a few colorful murals.

A brand new mural by Chris Winn, owner of Main Ave Tattoo, went up last month on the side of Café Coco. According to an Instagram post, this is Winn’s first mural, and he wanted to “bring a little sunshine into the lives of everyone who drives by.” The mural features a smiling sun and brightly colored flowers with the names of the building’s tenants inside, including Zola, Café Coco, Coven Hair Studio and Winn’s own Main Ave tattoo. (MP)

jumpANAC/MURALS COMMUNITY BUILDINGS

35 W. Main Ave. (alley between Browne and Division streets)

Even More the murals are on the other side of West Main Avenue, just behind the Saranac and Community buildings.

After taking over as manager of the Community Building last July, Angela Chapman found herself with a long to-do list.

“Murals were on the bucket list to begin with,” she says. “It seemed like the greatest idea, so I developed a grand idea and went with it. We wanted to bring beauty to the alleys where people don’t expect it. People around use the walkway – we wanted it to be inclusive and beautiful.”

Chapman and Katy Sheehan, executive director of the Community Building Foundation, put out a call to local artists for murals that depict what beauty means to them personally. Featured artists Amber Hoit, Daniel Lopez, Brittany Trambitas, Danielle Davis and Desire McGinn went to work earlier this summer to transform the alley into a vibrant street.

The plan is that every two years, the murals will be painted by new artists.

Hoit’s mural on the back of Merlyn’s storefronts features black superheroes. Lopez’s art is a tribute to family, while Davis’ abstract mural brings a sense of whimsy. Trambitas’ contribution makes the alley feel like an art gallery, with painted frames around the various vignettes. McGinn’s artwork features birds and plants, reminding visitors that nature is never far away. (MP)

GARLAND ART ALLEY: STUDIO GHIBLI TRIBUTE
Little Noodle, 713 W. Garland Ave.

The Garland District is known and loved for many things, including the Garland Art Walk. The artists’ paradise stretches behind the buildings along the southern alley of the boulevard of the same name. Artists of all ages and styles have left their mark there, and colorful new pieces appear regularly.

One of Art Alley’s newest summer 2024 wall installations is Desmond Boston’s ode to the classic Studio Ghibli films of animation master Hayao Miyazaki. On the east side of the alley at Garland and Wall Street, the mural wraps around two sides of the Little Noodle restaurant, from the side patio to the hidden entrance of the Itty Bitty Buddha bar. Ghibli fans can find several favorites: Kiki, Princess Mononoke, Catbus and Totoro. Boston did many other murals around the city; Follow him on Instagram for updates: @desmond1530. (CS)

KOBE AND GIANNA BRYANT
Affordable Insurance, 1514 W. Northwest Blvd.

Lifelong Kobe Bryant fan and newly designated “dad,” Tony Williams enlisted the talents of Spokane muralists and painter Daniel Lopez for this touching tribute. Painted along the west side of his insurance business in North Spokane, the mural depicts the late basketball star embracing his daughter, Gianna, as angel wings gently wrap around their shoulders.

“The mural was completed on 8/2/24, the same day that the Kobe Bryant statue (in downtown LA) was unveiled,” says Williams. “It just so happens to be Kobe’s basketball number and his daughter’s basketball numbers, obviously — Gianna wore #2 and Kobe wore #8 and #24. So the guy upstairs kind of put it all together in a harmony beautiful.”

Williams also dedicates the mural to her 2-month-old daughter, Harlee.

“(Kobe) was a self-proclaimed ‘daddy’s girl,’ if you will,” he says. “It’s really nice and when, you know, your superhero or someone you look up to dies sooner than you’d like, it makes you think about important things.”

On the opposite side of the building, Williams commissioned Lopez to paint a second tribute to Bryant, this time alongside Michael Jordan. (CS)

ASPHALT ART: BROWNE’S ADDITION
The intersection of Third Ave. and Elm St.

Cast your eyes down for a change! Spokane Arts’ Asphalt Art program was carried along with plenty of projects to keep artists busy all summer long.

The newest addition to the street art collection is a piece by Carly Ellis. Located at the intersection of Third and Elm in Browne’s Addition, the mural features the historic Coeur d’Alene Park neighborhood gazebo, the Campbell House, a person walking their dog and, of course, a bicyclist.

Other recently completed pieces of asphalt art can be found outside Chris Bovey’s The Scoop on the South Hill, artist Matt Smith’s street mural in the Hillyard near James J. Hill Park, and the Pride crosswalk on Riverside Avenue downtown of the city of Spokane. (MP) ♦

SPOKANE MURAL RALLY

To make up for lost time during the COVID pandemic, which has affected Spokane Arts’ ability to schedule new public mural projects, the organization is installing seven new murals simultaneously in September.

Local artists Sarah Sinclair, Kaitlyn Kelm, Lisa Soranaka, Mariah Boyle, Joseph Chan, Yelena Yunin, Desmond Boston and Willow Tree will paint designs on seven BNSF retaining walls and underpasses downtown. For those who want to watch the artists in action, here is the schedule of the mural rallies. Most artists start work at 10 am. (MP)

Howard Viaduct (East)
Sarah Sinclair, September 6

Howard Retaining Wall (west; between billboards)
Lisa Soranaka and Mariah Boyle, Sept. 6

Wall Viaduct (East)
Joseph Chan, September 13

Wall Viaduct (West)
Kaitlyn Kelm, September 13

Madison Viaduct
Willow Tree, September 13

Jefferson Viaduct (West)
Desmond Boston, September 16

Jefferson Viaduct (East)
Yelena Yunin, September 16