Mayor Dixon to Kick Off “CityPaint 2008” Mural Initiative at Waverly Giant
Event Complements Mayor’s Spring Cleanup on Waverly Main Street
Baltimore, MD Neighborhoods across Baltimore will participate in Mayor Dixon’s Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 19. But on Waverly Main Street, the stretch of Greenmount Avenue between 28th and 35th Streets, the message of neighborhood beautification will take on special meaning when Mayor Dixon announces the launch of the “CityPaint 2008” mural initiative at the Waverly Giant supermarket.
Mayor Sheila Dixon will unveil “CityPaint 2008” at the Waverly Giant on Saturday, April 19 at 10:30 a.m. “CityPaint 2008” expands the Baltimore Mural Program by seeking to create 20 murals around the city this season.
Six of those murals will be featured on the exterior walls of the Giant supermarket in Waverly, at the intersection of Old York Road and 33rd Street.
Four artists were selected by the Waverly Giant Mural Committee, which includes representatives from Better Waverly, Waverly Improvement Association, Charles Village, Waverly Main Street, the Baltimore City Council, the Baltimore Office for Promotion and the Arts, and Greater Homewood Community Corporation. Among these artists are established local muralists Gary Mullen, who painted the Arena Players building at 801 McCullough Street, and Michael Owen and Danamarie Hosler, both of whom have murals at the Downtown Farmers Market under the Jones Falls Expressway.
The launch complements the participation of Waverly Main Street in the Mayor’s Spring Cleanup. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., neighbors and merchants will clean storefronts and sidewalks along Greenmount Avenue. It’s part of the Waverly Main Street program’s commitment to historic preservation and economic revitalization in this part of Baltimore City. One of nine Baltimore Main Streets, the Waverly Main Street program is administered by Greater Homewood Community Corporation and facilitated with assistance from the Baltimore Development Corporation in efforts to improve safety, sanitation, and code enforcement, as well as funding and design services for building renovations.
Established in 1969, the Greater Homewood Community Corporation has worked to make the neighborhoods of north central Baltimore safer, better places to live. Its mission is to strengthen neighborhoods through improving education, supporting youth development, and advancing economic development and community revitalization. It serves forty neighborhoods with nearly 70,000 residents – one-tenth of the city’s population.