City leaders present ‘Love Your Neighborhood’ mural in downtown Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — Leaders with the city of Jackson held a presentation Monday in downtown Jackson to reveal a new piece of art.

The ribbon cutting was for the presentation of the “Love Your Neighborhood” mural in downtown Jackson.

“The mural was sponsored by the city, Jackson Downtown Development Corporation, Chamber of Commerce and then Visit Jackson TN, so it’s a group collaboration and effort to really invest in the arts in this community,” said Lauren Kirk, special projects manager for the city of Jackson.

Residents from all over the Hub City came out to see the transformation of the wall.

“[We’ve been] working on this concept for about two years now,” Kirk said. “We were able to get it off the ground this past month. I think our mural really represents what we are trying to do with our administration with our city, downtown, and it’s just people loving on their neighborhood and using their talent to enhance their neighborhood and their city.”

The artist, Courtney Searcy, says it took her three days to get the piece done.

“This has been a really meaningful and important project to me both as an artist and for our community,” Searcy said.

Searcy says it’s a way to beautify downtown Jackson.

“I am grateful to have been given an opportunity to do this, and I am excited to see more artists in our community get to have that same chance,” Searcy said.

“To bring the color and life that exists to the citizens of this community and actually bring forth a representation of that is a big win, and it really helps to tell the story about what a beautiful place Jackson is,” said Matt Altobell, director of Jackson Downtown Development.

Anyone interested in painting a mural for public art can send an email to Lauren Kirk at lkirk@cityofjackson.net.