The Chronicles of the Takoma Park Mole Mural

Thirteen months overdue, both liked and despised, the Mole Mural, as it has been dubbed was the hot topic of neighborhood listserv conversation for nearly two years by the Forest Park denizens. Some want the mural finished, some want it to be taken over by another artist and some have offered to paint it over at their own expense.

“Maybe not my ideal painting, but whatever… better then [sic] a blank wall. Now I feel like we are year into this thing and it still isn’t done? (Has it been a year, or does it just feel like that?)”

-Jason Jones, Takoma Park Resident

The idea of a mural at Prince Georges Avenue and Conway in Takoma Park was a welcome idea to counteract the graffiti tags that served as the defacto art representing the community.

But getting the community involved is never easy. Just ask resident, Mimi ikle-khalsa, worked with a local artist in 2006 to create a concept sketch that included trees, gardens, the playground at Forest Park, a tree of life and a mother earth with rainbow hair. She circulated the sketches to her neighbors looking for support. She was surprised by some of the negative comments she received. Her mural sketches were not well received and ultimately abandoned.

Getting a community together behind a single concept can be difficult but it does happen in public art projects. Many people I spoke with the mural recently created in a few months near the Aldi at Takoma Langley Crossroads. There is the mural on the side of the library that is a welcomed addition.

According to Tim Male the outgoing City Councilmember for Ward 2, the City Arts Council came forward with the idea for a mural. Artists in 2015 had been asked to submit their credentials for consideration. The artist Michael Kirby of MuralsofBaltimore.com was selected. A prolific artist with 20 years experience in mural painting.

Kirby’s specialty is large colorful murals in the Tromp L’oeil style (fool the eye). His murals and street art fool the eye into thinking that you could walk into a mural or fall through the street to another world.

When the sketches were created they were placed on display at the Community Center to less than overwhelming response with residents supporting the idea of a mural but just about half saying they wanted to move forward.

86% of about 40 respondents said they supported the mural, 32% said they liked the drawings and wanted to move forward and 50% (source Tim Male, from the survey prepared by the City of Takoma Park.

According to the contract and Sara Anne Daines, Takoma Park’s Housing and Community Development Director the first payment of $6,700 was a deposit to generate sketches. A second $6,700 was paid on sketch acceptance. That left ? rds of the contract prepaid before paintbrush was in hand.

We have asked the City Manager Suzanne Ludlow and Ms. Daines, if through this process they have revised their procedures for selecting or presenting a selection to the community. We have also asked if it would be possible to choose multiple artists and/or reshape the payment schedule to foster more community input or to allow the change of artist as of the date of this publication there has been no response.

In June 2016, our own Takoma Voice’s Granola Park reported on the exciting new sketches for a mural to be painted at Prince Georges Avenue and Conway in Takoma Park. There were beautiful pictures of kids and creatures. In a fantastical realm where kids and animals seemed to be on Narnia like quests.

Pleasant enough visions, but it’s relevance to Takoma Park is in not clear. But as our own Granola Park said:

“Cute idea, but it doesn’t say much about Takoma Park or the neighborhood.” — Granola Park, Takoma Voice, JUNE 30, 2016

Community input was sought again during June to August 2016. Two community meeting was held twice at the mural site. At the August 22nd meeting, residents expressed concern that diversity be included, that the main feature of the mural a small girl in a dress be in motion and active.

There is a diversity of opinions without a clear sentiment on what is the best way forward. Ore resident, Leanne Dougherty suggested reading not a painted mural but a living wall of plants. Other residents have described the mural as “hideous” and not representative of the community.

Comments were made by the community and some were taken, others not by Mr. Kirby. Painting began around October 2016.

It is not all flaming email and trolling. Many residents like the mural or parts of the mural. Although, many at this point just want it over.

“I love that enormous baby….. every time I see it on the way to Shoppers or somewhere else that kid brightens my day. “

Tim Male, Outgoing Ward 2, Takoma Park City Council

Both Tim Male and the two of the candidates running for his seat have voiced their interest in evaluating the process by which the city of Takoma Park engages with the community and looks to find best practices with other jurisdictions:

I am going to reach-out to other council members who have coordinated murals, community work-groups, and the Ward 2 artist I mentioned to discuss what strategies they have found most helpful to engage the community in art projects.

-Ashleigh Nugent,Candidate Ward 2 Takoma Park City Council

And

As a Council member, I would expect each City-sponsored neighborhood public art process to work with a local artist if possible, and engage area residents and businesses in the concept, decision, design, and (if appropriate) installation. I’ve participated in at least two public art projects in Takoma Park that were begun and organized this way.

Cindy Dyballa, Candidate Ward 2, City of Takoma Park City Council

A new council member is a new chance to make change. But the words of former City Council Member and Soca President, Colleen Clay summed it up best before paint hit the wall:

It’s really easy to dismiss comments in opposition to your own as a vocal minority. But we don’t know that because the communication process is opaque. Because there was no initial community consultation process it’s hard to have confidence the artist was selected because he had a history of of providing the kind of mural the community was looking for, because no one knows what the community was looking for. Because no one knows, we are playing catch up in the community consultation process, and the best the city offers is a survey and according to on resident, poorly advertised community meetings.

-Colleen Clay, former Ward 2 City Council Member

In the end, it really didn’t matter what the community wanted or didn’t want. The money had been paid the mural would be up. What is clear is that some will consider it an eyesore and some will look at and smile.

It should be noted that A.J. Campbell has been a critic of the mural at Prince George’s and Conway Ave. since the beginning and has spoken and written about it.