Chapman Cultural Center launches the creative crosswalk public art project in Spartanburg’s downtown cultural district

Chapman Cultural Center announced the implementation of a new public art project that will bring unique crosswalk murals to three intersections in Spartanburg’s Downtown Cultural District through funding provided by the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s One Spartanburg initiative and through a research grant from USC Upstate. The murals will be painted at the intersections of Main St. and King St., Main St. and Spring St., and Main St. and Magnolia St. on Sunday, July 21st. The goal of this project is to create a more vibrant and walkable downtown – making our roads safer for both drivers and pedestrians.

Each installation is being designed and painted by a different local artist or artist team with Michael Webster painting Main St. and King St., Matthew Donaldson painting Main St. and Spring St., and Frankie Page and Adrian Meadows painting Main St. and Magnolia St. The artists were chosen by a panel from the Spartanburg Downtown Cultural District Steering Committee made up of businesses, residents, arts leaders, city officials and Chamber of Commerce representatives.

In order to ensure the safety of the artists and the successful implementation of the murals, we will have to close several roads to traffic for 24 hours.

The following roads will be closed beginning at 2 am on Sunday, July 21st and will remain closed until 12 pm on Monday July 22nd:

Michael Webster is an artist whose focus is the built environments of cities, particularly the relationship of the spatial and the social.  He has completed site-specific projects in Chicago, Moorestown, NJ, Greenville, NC and Talca, Chile, and has participated in residencies at Hambidge Center, Elsewhere Museum, and Penland School of Craft. Recent exhibitions include Locust Projects, Miami, Paradise Palace, Brooklyn, Wiregrass Museum of Art, AL, and the Southside Hub of Production, Chicago. In 2012 he completed an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently an assistant professor at Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC.

On his participation in this project he said, “As a recent transplant to the area, I have been impressed with the recent growth of public art in Spartanburg. Beyond the impact of each individual artwork, the visibility of all public art within the city signifies a thriving cultural discourse. I am excited to contribute to Spartanburg’s public art collection through the development of this crosswalk, and to add a moment of visual stimulation for people walking or driving down Main St.”

Matthew Donaldson is a web & graphic designer, horror fanatic, and tattoo collector connoisseur. When he’s not working, Matthew enjoys spending time with his wife and kids and seeing the world, having traveled to such destinations as England, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Thailand. Matthew has over a decade of experience in the design industry, working as a freelance designer, interactive designer, and design educator, and he is currently employed as an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at USC Upstate.

Matthew commented on his participation, saying, “The Creative Crosswalk Project is an opportunity for me to step away from my day-to-day work as a web and graphic designer and into the public art sector. It poses the challenge of removing myself from the digital realm and adapting to a real-world, physical environment. Three USC Upstate graphic design students will collaborate with me as we translate our knowledge of graphic design into public street art.”

Born in New York City and raised in Spartanburg, SC, Frankie Page (Alias Frankie Zombie) is a mixed media artist and music producer in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Frankie has collaborated with musical artists such as Pharrell, Miley Cyrus and John Legend to name a few. The collectors of custom Frankie Zombie apparel pieces span from New York City to Atlanta, to London and his art has reached influencers such as Jon Wexler of Adidas, and Pusha T. His current color balance style was birthed after his mother was suddenly diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2016, prompting his return to Spartanburg. Frankie’s art focuses around positive energy, race relations, spirituality, and health. He prescribes to the notion that individual energy determines how the world changes.

Born in and raised in Spartanburg, SC, Adrian Meadows (Alias To Aspire) is a graphic designer, hand lettering and mixed media artist. Adrian has collaborated with numerous companies such as Adobe Photoshop, Car & Driver Magazine, BuzzFeed News and Makeup Forever. Adrian has also been featured in multiple national and international typography focused books such as GoodType: The Book, Vol 1. and Typism: Vol 3. He believes that art is the most impactful language we have and that people who like guacamole cannot be trusted.

When asked of his artistic style and inspiration for the project, Page said, “It literally came from watching the Jetson’s growing up. The colors, the patterns, the shapes, the monochromatic shades, it all came from the cartoon. The Jetson gave me a feel of everything I thought was just a cool dream at the time, and as I grew up, I started to see a lot of those dreams become reality.”

We hope you will come out and watch the artists as they work on these vibrant additions to downtown that will create a safer environment for pedestrians and drivers. There will be a ribbon cutting and public celebration of the crosswalks on Monday, July 22nd, at 10 AM outside of the Little River Coffee Bar. Please contact Eric Kocher at the Chapman Cultural Center with any questions: [email protected] or 864 278 9672.