Earlier this month, at the intersection of the Fort Worth Arts Fair and Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival, a village of more than 1,000 artists convened during the four days of activities to not only sell their wares but also to contribute to the North Texas art scene in a very sustainable way by creating a mural that celebrates downtown Fort Worth’s rich and colorful history.
Back in the festival’s Makers Zone, sponsored by Tarrant County College, artists of all ages and disciplines participated in the Community Mural Mosaic Project by mixing colors and painting 6-by-6-inch mini masterpieces. Following the artists’ original patterns and designs, Jimmy Joe Jenkins and Bradly Kent puzzled together the pieces to create much larger murals measuring 8 feet tall by 16 feet wide.
Image courtesy Facebook
The Weekly profiled Jenkins in 2018. A year before, he had just completed his first mural — three monkeys painted on the side of Lettuce Cook (5101 White Settlement Rd, 817-989-2665). By the time our story went to press, he had painted a half-dozen other walls from West 7th Street to the Cultural District and farther west in the burgeoning River District.
“His fast pace means Jenkins should have a dozen murals scattered around town by this time next year,” we said. “All will be interconnected thematically in a way that will become more evident once they are finished.”
Image courtesy Facebook
Freelance artist Kent calls Grand Prairie home and does graphic design for the City of Farmers Branch by day. His art, illustrations, and other design work can be seen at BradleyKent.com or on Instagram via @BradleyKent8.
“Working in marketing for the majority of my career,” he says, “I have used my love for hand-drawn illustrations and my trained eye for design to develop the tools and imagery for newspapers, publications, billboards, cards, postcards, brochures, web-based marketing, and for the sake of creating. I was given this gift to help you see the colorful creations in the universe and the endless possibilities of your imagination.”
He believes that creativity can be applied to all aspects of life.
Known collectively as the Community Mural Mosaic Project, Jenkins’ “Main St. Cowtown Parade” and Kent’s “Downtown Giddy Up” murals will be displayed together and will go on tour throughout Fort Worth until the end of summer. The first stop is the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (1600 Gendy St, 817-255-9300) in the Cultural District 10am-5pm Wed-Sat and noon-5pm Sun thru Sat, Apr 30. The museum is closed Mon-Tue.
Along with the permanent exhibits of the FWMSH and the murals, the price of admission also includes entry into the Cattle Raisers Museum and the Noble Planetarium. Tickets are $12-16 on-site only. For future locations of the mural tour, keep an eye on our Night & Day column in the coming weeks.
