BENTONVILLE -- A mural that inspired a nationwide art initiative will be removed within a couple of weeks.
The mural called "Wal-Art" consists of thousands of squares depicting artwork created by Bentonville Public School students. It's on the southeast corner of East Central Avenue and South Main Street on the Downtown Square.
Wal-Art
Wal-Art consists of more than 8,000 pieces of artwork created by Bentonville students. Students and parents have a couple weeks to snap photos before the mural is removed. It is located at 103 S. Main St.
The art on West Central Avenue along the Spark Cafe will be removed later this spring as the cafe gears up to celebrate its 25th anniversary in May.
Source: Staff report
Johnny Haney manages the building the mural is on and said it will be removed so maintenance and painting can be done.
"Our plan would be to do some work on the building once it gets warm, but we're probably going to start sooner than that with getting that mural off to see what else we might do under it," he said.
The mural was created with an adhesive material that sticks to the wall.
"Think of it like huge panels of wallpaper," Haney said.
The mural was created in the spring of 2012. More than 8,000 Bentonville Public School students in grades first through sixth were asked to interpret one of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton's basic principals -- respect, service and excellence.
Brendan O'Connell, professional artist, spearheaded the project with the help of Mary Ley, who was then the school district's director of communications, Alan Dranow with the Walmart Museum and Daniel Hintz, who was then the director of Downtown Bentonville.
"I'm going to miss it," Ley said. "It had more impact than I ever dreamed of."
The mural was just one aspect of the project, she said. In April 2012, students were bused to the Tiger Athletic Complex so each could lay their piece in the shape of Arkansas. The event took seven hours. Students were enthusiastic and proud of their work, Ley said.
One young student stepped out of line and approached Dranow, he said. She held up her drawing and asked if Sam Walton would be proud.
"I just said, 'Sam Walton would be very proud,'" Dranow said.
The artwork has been photographed and documented and will eventually be part of an exhibit in the Walmart Museum, according to Dranow.
The mural was only supposed to stay up a year. The building's owners have been gracious to leave it up nearly three years, he said.
During the project, Walmart employees visited and spoke to students about the principals, Ley said.
"They really taught our children what respect, excellence and service means," she said. "And when you look at each little image, they get it."
The mural has been respected, and it allowed students to take ownership of a part of town, Ley said.
"I'm thankful for what it's done for all the kids," she said.
Organizers decided to do more the second year and involve more schools in Northwest Arkansas, Ley said.
Artwork was displayed at trail heads, The Walton Arts Center, Crystal Bridges and The Jones Center. Most of that work was taken down within six months of installation, she said.
The mural on South Main Street was the starting point for Everyartist Live!, a nationwide art initiative envisioned by O'Connell where one day each year educators and students come together to explore and create art. It began in 2013 with 230,000 participants in 46 states, according to the event's website.
Haney said there are no definite plans for what will go on the wall, but he has been contacted about possible public art options.
"The first step is to remove that (the mural) and see what repairs would be needed," he said.
NW News on 02/20/2015