New Northside Mural: What’s Love Got to Do with It?
by Charles McGuigan 07.2021
What’s not to love about Northside?
Absolutely nothing.
But there’s a lot to love about it.
So much in fact that it’s going to be hard to decide exactly what will make up the Northside Love Mural to be painted on the side of the old dry cleaners building at the southwest corner of Brook Road and Bellevue Avenue.
It probably all started on Next Door when someone mentioned how the façade of that building had been tagged, yet again. Someone suggested painting a mural there that would do everyone proud.
“It was one of those organic things,” says Bellevue resident Elaine Summerfield. “There are so many people involved in this project. We have a great team of neighbors working to get it done.”
Even though the mural will be in Bellevue, the objective is for the artwork to reflect what people throughout Northside love about their neighborhood. “We’d really love to have representation from other Northside neighborhoods as well because we see this as an opportunity for doing something positive that we can all be proud of, and doing it together as a Northside community,” says Elaine. “So we’ve done some outreach to other neighborhoods, and right now we’re trying to get interest and build momentum.”
From Barton Heights to Washington Park, from Rosedale to Sherwood Park, all of these neighborhoods are part of the fabric that makes Northside what it is. And each neighborhood possesses its own unique qualities that are lovable.
“We’re generating ideas, right now,” Elaine says. “We have a survey online (http://bit.ly/BrookRdMural) where we’re asking our Northside neighbors to share what they love about Northside. If there are words that represent what you love about Northside, or if there are images that you think represent what you love about Northside, let us know.”
If you’re a Northsider, you can imagine just how many suggestions there have already been. “People are expressing that the diversity of their neighborhood is something they love,” says Elaine. “There was one person who mentioned we need to include a reference to the Powhatan tribe in respect to the native lands the city stands on. We have a lot of representations of people waving at neighbors, and the connections people have in Northside. We have dog walking and baby strollers and kids and bicycles. And the diverse architecture of every Northside neighborhood.”
Those suggestions will ultimately be passed on to the artist who will paint the mural (an artist has not yet been chosen). “There’s a lot to represent, and that will be part of the artist’s creativity and vision to conceptualize how that will come together in one mural,” Elaine tells me. “From the get-go we wanted this to be a collaborative effort where people can participate at different levels.”
Recently, Joyce Foster, another Bellevue resident involved with the Northside Love Mural, drafted an RFP (request for proposal), which is a kind business document that describes a project and solicits bids.
"The request for proposal describes the process that this is a collaborative mural project and that we hope to include volunteers,” according to Elaine. “And that the artist will be working with the team, presenting a few different concepts for the team to consider.”
Early on, the Bellevue Civic Association, which has agreed to serve as fiscal sponsor for this project, donated $1500 for the Northside Love Mural. Third District Councilor Mary-Frances Lambert has also committed to a $500 donation for the project.
In typical Northside fashion, the team behind the Northside Love Mural wants to help another mural project in the area, one that is planned for the north wall of True North Yoga & Wellness on MacArthur Avenue. Called the Unity Mural, that project was spearheaded by Aliza Sterling, owner of the yoga studio. The mural will reflect the diversity and inclusivity that define neighborhood of Bellevue.
“We are also wanting to see the vision on MacArthur come around,” says Elaine. “On our GoFundMe we mention the one for the Unity Mural because we’d really love for her to be able to get that done in September, and then we can do ours after that. I’d love for hers to go in first.”
Of the Northside Love Mural and the team that’s putting it together, Elaine Summerfield says this: “It doesn’t belong to any one person, it’s everybody’s. It’s not about any one person at all; it’s the total opposite of that.”
And that’s what we all truly love about Northside.
To donate to the Northside Love Mural go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/Brook-Rd-Mural
To donate to the Unity Mural go to https://gofundme.com/f/mural-for-unity