A long time has passed since I thoroughly photographed Strong Alley. The art in the alley, which is located between Market Square and Gay Street, first had a string of murals when local artist Jayne McGowan semi-organized a group of artists and wrangled permission from building owners to create something locals and tourists alike have come to love. I wrote about it at the time, late 2012, when the alley was filled with graffiti. You can see some of the early work go here, here, here and here.
Eventually, Dogwood Arts began commissioning artists to paint murals in the alley. Several of the early murals still survive, including the Lion and Zebra Tina Brunetti, the Sun by Fawne Derosia, and the Hand Holding Roses by Curtis Glover. Lots of great ones have been lost. One of the last non-commissioned paintings has proven the most popular: Dolly Parton near Wall Avenue. Originally painted by Colton Valentine, she was vandalized along with some others in 2020 and Dogwood Arts hired Megan Lingerfelt to restore, reimagine, and complete her.
Megan has taken a lead in the years since, painting her own murals and coordinating with the other artists on behalf of Dogwood Arts. The six artists whose work was added to the alley this year “participated in a Mural Workshop at Maker Exchange,” which was led by Megan, whose work is also featured along Wall Avenue (Windows) and behind Mast General Store, as well as other prominent spots around downtown. Dogwood Arts ensures that the murals are attended to and replaced on a regular basis. Thousands of people walk the alley every year, braving its alleyness (doesn’t always smell great) for the reward of art.
Megan’s new seasonal mural was the first to be completed this round. Each quarter, Megan paints a new mural at the Union Avenue entrance, to track the seasons and give a fresh entry to that end of the alley. This is her nineteenth in the series. Of her new mural, Megan said, “Waking up early with the sun, morning glories mark the longer days of summer. This design uses a red, white, and blue palette paired with the blue violet of the blooms to cheer on the athletes competing in the US Olympic Diving finals.”
Dogwood Arts not only commissions murals on the alley, it commissions them in a range of downtown locations, to the tune of over fifty, so far. The pay? A small amount for materials, but the chance to have your work prominently displayed. Each mural is guaranteed a year in the alley, and some manage to be placed for longer. Any artists interested in painting a mural on the alley can apply here.
And here’s a look at the latest works and the artists who contributed them:
So, if you haven’t been by very recently, you have some catching up to do. Drop by and enjoy the new work, as well as the survivors. I’ll leave you with a few more that have been around for a bit. I’m not sure I’d looked closely at them all. Maybe you’ve missed some of these, as well.
