What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1265867
JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette O riginally scheduled for April in conjunction with the Green Heart Festival but sidelined by the coronavirus, Fayetteville's inaugural street art mural festival has found a way to move forward after all. Sprayetteville will see 11 professional local and regional artists throw up their work on 10 spots in and around Fayetteville's downtown entertainment district in an event that will hopefully offer a moment of levity and joy in turbulent times. "Our goal from the very beginning was to bring beauty and culture and art and diversity and all of those things that street art murals bring into a community — not only for the community, but for the tourists that travel into Northwest Arkansas," explains Loudy Bousman, co-founder of the festival as well as Shaman Art, and owner of American Shaman Kava Bar. "This is something that's going to be here for a really long time for people to enjoy and that's our passion. Especially in these times — with this pandemic, and just the state of the nation and the world, and all of the animosities that are going on — we're hoping that this will bring some unity into the community and give people something that they can really feel good about." "I've been involved in art my entire life, and I love art of all kinds, but what I particularly love about street murals and street art is that it's open to everyone," adds Ranaga Farbiarz, the other festival co-founder and Bousman's partner through Shaman Art and the Kava Bar. "There's no limit; there's no barriers to it. It's there kind of unexpectedly, which is really fun, and it's just available to everybody." Farbiarz and Bousman were inspired to bring some outdoor art to Fayetteville after attending the SpraySeeMO festival in Kansas City last year. Between their former affiliation with the Green Heart Festival — an event centered on art, music, wellness and plant medicine — and their focus on physical and mental wellness and balance through American Shaman, they established Sprayetteville with a vision of planet stewardship through art, wellness, plant medicine and social awareness. Since planning began in December, quite a lot has changed. "When we had to resurrect it for July, and in the current climate of controversy and all, we didn't want any of these [murals] to be political or controversial," Farbiarz reveals. "But we did ask the artists to possibly bring in a message of diversity or social justice, not as a statement, but more as TO ALL TERRIFIC www.bgozarks.org | (479) 750.2620 | 4703 N Crossover Rd | Fayetteville, AR Open daily 9 am to 5 pm | Become a member today! TO ALL TERRIFIC TO ALL TERRIFIC www.bgozarks.org | (479) 750.2620 | 4703 North Crossover Rd | Fayetteville, AR Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Become a member today! JUNE, JULY & AUGUST 5 to 8 pm Donations & picnics welcome. No pets, please. No access to the building until further notice. Visit bgozarks.org for more information. Independent & Level 2 Assisted Living Community 2300 SE 28th Street | Bentonville 479.273.9969 www.themeadowsinbentonville.com We are a Family Owned and Operated Award Winning Level 2 Assisted Living Community located in Bentonville Best of Northwest Arkansas the JULY 5-11, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 5 FAQ Sprayetteville Mural Festival WHEN — July 6-12 WHERE — Various locations around downtown Fayetteville COST — Free INFO — sprayettevillestreetart.com Walls Of Wonder Festival hopes to bring unity, joy to Fayetteville Mexican artist and Fayetteville transplant Octavio Logo is one of the artists creating a mural for the inaugural Sprayetteville mural festival. His work has covered four walls in Fayetteville and around a dozen across Northwest Arkansas. For the festival, Logo will be working with spray paint, a medium he doesn't typically use. "I want to give a sense of more fast street art work, and the figures I'm going to include with my normal process are going to integrate these elements," he explains. "It's a little abstract. But I think it's going to be very nice to see that mix of street art/ spray can graffiti with my normal painting process." (Courtesy Photo/Octavio Logo) FAYETTEVILLE See Sprayetteville Page 6