HOT SPRINGS -- The south wall of the Craighead Laundry Building adjacent to 105 Convention Blvd. has been covered with a coat of black paint in preparation for a commemorative mural celebrating Hot Springs' role as the birthplace of professional baseball spring training.
Production of the 160-by-35-foot mural will begin in mid-September, according to Mary Zunick, cultural affairs manager for the Visit Hot Springs tourist agency. The agency began soliciting proposals for the mural in January and awarded the project to Eyecon Studios of Dallas.
The mural will be funded by the agency and will not exceed $25,000, Zunick said.
In their proposal, principal artists Chris Arnold and Jeff Garrison said the custom mural is titled Playing Cards and is described as "a whimsical look back at the nostalgic players that make up the 'Baseball Trail' doing what they do best, set into a bold graphic contemporary context."
The mural will feature players from both Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues who played in Hot Springs, Zunick said. The tourist agency and local baseball historians, who provided input on the Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail, felt that was necessary to honor the rich history of the sport in the city.
"We had a number of proposals that were submitted, over 10 proposals. You could tell by looking that they've done some incredible work," Zunick said of Eyecon.
A portion of the wall is located behind the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission building, but nothing will be lost from the mural's overall effect, she said.
"[The artists] incorporated the building into the design so that nothing is lost in the part that is blocked," she said.
Zunick said she believes the mural will be interactive, which was one of the criteria in the request for proposals.
"I think it will be very photographed when our baseball enthusiasts visit Hot Springs, but it will also be interactive in that it will kind of serve as a starting point for the Baseball Trail," she said. "Some people that visit Hot Springs may not realize our spring baseball history; we have the plaques around town. This will be very visible and a great way to highlight the trail."
Zunick said she hopes to see more murals and public art throughout the city with completion in the last year of the Hot Springs National Park Rotary Centennial, Garvan Woodland Gardens, and Webb Center murals.
"We are an arts town, and what better way than to highlight public art in our community," she said.
State Desk on 07/19/2018