Katie B Mural @ Walter Marshall Building

Pros and Cons to East and West Facades

 

I. Approved Location: East Side of Building
Located on the east side of the Walter Marshall Building,  the mural will face Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, and is clearly visible from the Malloy-Jordan Heritage Center and Sunrise Towers.

approach from east

from Malloy Jordan Heritage Center

view from on-street parking

Depiction of work on Walter Murray Building. Each panel will be   approximately  9' x 15',printed on vinyl, and only requires one screw every 8 feet to install. 

Malloy Jordan Heritage Center

PRO

CON

Physically closer to the of original Katie B site Very large scale. The scale provides a sense of importance Looks great from the parking lot It’s nice that it’s closer to the historic marker Safer from vandalism or other damage  Approved and ready to go Adjacent to Malloy Jordan heritage center, named for KBRMH docs Area of town which needs stories-- original reason for placing at this part of MLK Jr Blvd

Hard for the public to get close access except on foot. They can’t go to the parking lot, but they can see from the walkway. They can view well from planned plaque by historic marker Bad connotation of having it on the back  Curious about how it will look from the a car Minor Issues: Less refined area for opening- in the parking lot which is on a hill and slightly diagonal We will need to make it clear to the public how they can view it.

II. West Side: Public Entrance to Forsyth County Health Services

West Side of Building

PRO

CON

Easy for public who enter the building to have a relationship to the work It become associated with the location of Reynolds Memorial Hospital-- separate from Katie B--which adds additional storytelling for the project about transition away from Katie B/closure of hospital People can get close and take pictures with the portraits The front of the building has panels which will frame each portrait stand   Block slated for neighborhood improvements-- this adds to those   Considered front of building

The images will need to be a bit smaller. Would Perry feel better about printing smaller? Does the work when blown up look better from a distance or close to the work? Does this matter? Hard to see from a distance-- easy to miss even if entering DHS.  Being physically closer to the ground increases the risk of vandalism or damage Moving this and resizing this will slow down the project which has already been slowed down.  Further from the historic marker and past location of Katie B. and Nursing Student Dormitories Requires removal of existing magnolia trees and DSS application materials Minor Issues: Smaller area for the opening Will installing it on the front impact the day-to-day operations? (BT: I don’t think so-- will happen in one saturday)

IV. Mural Mockups by Owens Daniels

Owens Daniels,  Jackie Howell proto 2021

Owens Daniels, Portrait of Dr. Betty Alexander, 2021

Owens Daniels, Portrait of Ms. Gloria Millner

Owens Daniels, Jesse Watson, 2021

V. Supplemental Elements: The murals of Present Absence grow out of the research and design of a committee of 35 artists, community leaders, scholars, students and archivists. You can learn more about our team at the Present Absence team page, here. The mural conveys the power and impact of "Katie B" on Winston Salem, and we hope that it will capture the community's interest in learning more. Further materials will be available via the website (web address and square code will be visible on site), posters placed throughout the community, tabling at Juneteenth, hopefully connections at Malloy-Jordan heritage center, at the Winston Salem African American Archive, and via social media.