Acclaimed artist to teach Manitou Mural Bootcamp
Murals are part of the soul of Manitou Springs.
They're along the Avenue, at the tops of buildings, on brick walls, in parking lots, in shop windows - and this summer, Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts is offering emerging and established artists the chance to add their brushstrokes of creativity to the city by taking part in a Mural Bootcamp.
From 1 to 4 p.m. every Wednesday, starting July 9 and running until August 13, New Orleans native Jamar Duvol Pierre will lead courses on the art and business of being a successful muralist. The workshops, which are made possible in part by the Manitou Arts, Culture and Heritage Initiative with funding from the City of Manitou Springs Sales and Use Tax, approved by voters in 2019, will be intensive, covering two topics per session.
Pierre, who began his artistic life as a graffiti artist in his hometown, said he is "super excited" to guide the group in Manitou through a participatory adventure in which they will learn every aspect of being a muralist, from how to prepare a surface for a mural, how to work at scale, how to negotiate contracts and build a career as a public artist, and more.
"I invite participation, from brainstorming themes to adding brushstrokes," Pierre, who has grown from a totally self-taught artist to internationally recognized talent, told the Pikes Peak Bulletin.
"When people contribute, they begin to understand how every small detail is essential to a larger story."
Students will "use scale, symbolism and storytelling" and turn a blank surface into not just art but "a celebration of identity, resilience and hope," he said.
They will develop their individual voices and artistic vision, while working alongside others to design and create a "portable tryptich" - artwork comprising three panels that are meant to be viewed together and often tell a story - Pierre said.
The tryptich created by the class will be on canvas, allowing it to be "moved from place to place around the community, indoors or outdoors," he said.
Pierre's own outsized murals include New Orleans' Tchoupitoulas Street Floodwall Mural and "Resilience," the official artwork for his hometown's tricentennial celebration. He has exhibited at the Houston Museum of Fine Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the New Orleans Museum of Art, among others; been featured at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and has been artist in residence at institutions in Canada, Costa Rica, Iceland and his native Louisiana.
The Mural Bootcamp will be held at Red Crags Arts and Agriculture House at 302 El Paso Blvd. in Manitou Springs. Tickets cost $180 per student for all six weeks, plus tax and fees, and are available at Events.humanitix.com/mural-art-boot-camp. An overview of the curriculum is available Smokebrush.org/mural-bootcamp/.
