This design will go over the road hump outside of the McDowell Arts Center. Photo courtesy of Town of Matthews
MATTHEWS – The road hump between the McDowell Arts Center and the Matthews Community Center will soon be more noticeable as it becomes a canvas for Raleigh artist Muriel Epling.
Melissa Johnson, cultural recreation manager for the Town of Matthews, said the hump is in an area that gets a lot of traffic, particularly foot traffic in the mornings and afternoons for school drop-off and pick-up, as well as during festivals.
Johnson recalled two years ago when Matthews Alive vendors and tents covered up the directional arrows.
“People were tripping on it constantly,” Johnson told town commissioners May 11.
She said a temporary public art installation last year helped draw more attention to the hump.
The town won a $1,500 grant from America Walks Community Grants program for a permanent installation. The town will chip in an additional $1,000 from the parks and rec budget.
The Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resource Department Advisory Committee selected Epling to paint the hump. Epling has installed public art in parks and on the sides of buildings. She submitted four renderings.
The one that will go on the hump depicts dogwood flowers growing in between blue and white stripes. North Carolina designated dogwood as the official state flower in 1941.
Leave a Reply