Painting a Perspective - Mural Self-Guided Tour

Visit this map to learn more about the specific routes that we recommend for visiting local murals.  

UREC Outdoors has a bicycle for you. We offer high-quality Marin  mountain bikes for hitting the local trails and Marin hybrid bikes that are perfect for long rides around town or on the Razorback Regional Greenway.

Solidarity by Samual Hale - @samuelhaelart

Located on the side of the Laundro-mat on 15th street in Fayetteville.  This mural depicts a young black girl showing solidarity, strength, vibrancy, and diversity of life. It was painted during the 2020 Commission of Sprayetteville in which Hale brought in each artist to paint a letter symbolizing what solidarity meant to them.

What do the different representations of solidarity mean to you?

Location:  549 W. 15th Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701

Power to the People by Octavio Logo - @octoavio_logo

Located near a basketball court this mural from left to right depicts a Navajo Native American, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, a Sioux Native American, and Maya Angelou.  Painted with the intent to create a space for the local community, this mural depicts major figures in the Civil Rights Movement as well as indigenous peoples whose land was stolen from them. 

What symbolism do YOU see in this mural?

Location:  704 S. Washington Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701

Black Lives Matter by Octoavio Logo - @octavio_logo

Located on the same building as Power to the People this mural depcits George Floyd an unarmed black man killed by police during an arrest in Minneapolois, MN in May of 2020. 

What does this mural being around the corner from Power to the People mean to you?

Location: 704 S. Washington Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701

Walker Park Mural by Ann Kaminsky and Eugene Sargent 

Located within Walker Park, this mural depicts a swirl of nature along with the many different people that make up a community like Fayetteville. Created by the two artists who were working with a class in high school called School Within a School  

Location: Walker Park – Corner of 15th St. And S. College Ave. 

“She had been working with this class in Fayetteville High School, called a School Within a School. They had already been doing some research into the history of South Fayetteville, which was the topic of the mural. So, they had a lot of sketches and a disorganized pile of ideas.”  - Eugene Sargent

“Once we got painting, we had not only the school within a school kids, but we hosted several groups of elementary school kids and passersby got involved, and I know one 3-year-old painted on it. So, it turned into a project that felt like a lot of people had gotten involved in it. What was different about this project is that everyone who approached the wall had a different level of experience and some of them may have never painted a wall before with real artist colors.” - Eugene Sargent

What are the differences in beautifcation of a community and gentrification of a community?

Harvesting the Winds of Change by Octoavio Logo - @octavio_logo

Located right off historic Dickson Street, this mural’s inspiration is derived from the artist. “I’m Mexican, muralism and public art is my heritage,” said Logo, “When I came here I was like where are the murals? Where is the art?” Logo said the messages within his work are a combination of things. “It’s my own need to say something, but at the same time I am trying to channel others’ messages,” said Logo. 

Location: 220 N. West Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701 

Better Together by Matt Miller - https://www.mattmillerstudio.com/  

Located right off the Fayetteville Square this mural shows Black and White children embraced while standing and walking together. 

Location: 30 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701 

Athena by Eugene Sargent and Octavio Logo

The mural, located in the narrow alley west of the Arvest Bank building on the north side of the square, features a warrior named Athena whose sword and shield are traded for a paint brush and palette to signify the power of art. 

Location: 30 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701 

"We had been discussing, a lot about the feminist aspects of the piece, and how she was, you know, a strong artist warrior woman, and so that’s how the spear got replaced with a paintbrush, and the palette was front and center. We had this idea of putting, you know, our female heroes in the eyes of the tailfeathers, and we each chose a few, let other people choose some of the others.” -Eugene Sargent 

No Justice No Peace by Sharon Killian, Morgan Bame, Octavio Logo, Jody Travis Thompson, and Hannah Newsom Doyle 

This mural depicts a colorful, yet bold call for unity in Fayetteville. 

Location: 241 N. College Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701 

It’s Fayetteville For Me by Austin Hunter Floyd 

This mural shows a colorful outlook of Fayetteville from the perspective of the woman painted on the mural.

Location: 258 S. Church Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701 

Love Unites Us Mural by Olivia Trimble: https://oliviatrimble.art/about  

Located on MLK, this mural is passed by thousands of people daily and colorfully remakes to all “Love Unites Us”, though over the past years it has also been the target of many defacements.  

Location: 1605 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fayetteville, AR 72701 

Holding on and Letting Go by Stacy Bates: https://www.stacybeeart.com/ 

Located on an old railroad tunnel this mural depicts the hands of a Native person holding a feather wand backed back a tightly woven basket and portrays the strength and sacrifice of the Cherokee people. 

Location: Tsa La-Gi Trail near Hill Place Apartments

Artist Quotes:

What inspired you and what does it represent or mean? “I had previously created a Native American piece focusing on the history of the transcontinental railroad and how it divided the land of the Native people. It was something I had been researching and when the opportunity for this mural came up, I was very interested in creating another piece. The piece to me has a lot of different meanings and symbols throughout. But overall, to me, it shows the strength of the Cherokee (Tsa La Gi) people and their culture to have survived the brutal conditions of the Trail of Tears. It's also about the Cherokee trying to hold on to their culture and family through this time period but also being forced to let go of their lands.” 

What message would you give to students looking at your work? “When looking at "Holding On and Letting Go" it's important to see the entire area and to know that a railroad track once ran through the tunnel and that a current railroad runs atop the tunnel. It's very representative of how the transcontinental railroad was built through the lands of Native Americans and yet still, they showed their strength to survive. Their strength is shown in the strong hands holding the feather wand and the tightly woven basket weave in the background. The feather wand represents the Cherokee culture showing 7 feathers. The Cherokee have seven clans, seven councilors, they made a sacrifice on the seventh day, would make a sacrifice every seventh year and they believe there are seven different directions.” 

• Guiding Questions
  • How do historic and systemic oppression affect us today? 

• • What part did Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas play in that oppression? 

• • What can we do every day to fight for justice, equity, diversity, and  inclusion? 
• University of Arkansas History 

• • Indigenous Peoples 

• • • Land Grant or Land Grab? 
    • Fulbright College Land Acknowledgement 

• • University of Arkansas Campus

• • • Diversity Connections 
    • Campus Perspectives 

• The Multicultural Center
  • Get Engaged 

• Ted Talks 

• • The danger of a single story – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 
  • My identity is a superpower – not an obstacle – America Ferrera 
  • How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them. - Vernã Myers   
  • The urgency of intersectionality – Kimberlé Crenshaw
  • The difference between being “not racist” and antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi