In 2023, a mural honoring the late Indianapolis DJ and photojournalist Mpozi Mishale Tolbert disappeared overnight. A new owner had moved into the building, at 6308 Guilford Ave. in Broad Ripple, and decided to paint over it, without telling Tolbert’s family, the community, or the artists who first created the mural in 2008 to honor Tolbert, who died at age 34.
“I can’t stress enough how much Pozi meant to people,” friend and mural collaborator Brian Presnell told the IndyStar. “He mattered. He was really good for our city when we had him, and that mural was testament to that.”
When something with that much heart gets painted over, emotions can run high.
That’s why the Indy Arts Council gave the public notice that this month, two murals created when Indy hosted the 2012 Super Bowl will be decommissioned – the fancy way to say “painted over.” Eduardo Mendieta’s “Dimensional Shadows” on Mass Ave was removed April 7 and Amy Rheinhardt’s “Swept Away” in Broad Ripple will go away at the end of the month.
The most common reason murals are decommissioned is because a new owner takes over the building, but some murals just reach the end of their shelf life. Murals last 10 to 15 years before needing upkeep that can cost $1,500 to $2,500, said Julia Muney Moore, public art director for the Indy Arts Council, which managed the “46 for XLVI” project. The Super Bowl murals were intended to last 10 years – a time frame that the artists and the Arts Council agreed on at the beginning of the process.
Because everyone involved was aware, Moore doesn’t expect a negative reaction from the public.
Still, those murals have been part of the community for a long time – and it’s important to give people time to say goodbye. The Arts Council suggests taking a photo of the murals while they’re still here or sharing an old photo or memory.
[Planning your next First Friday? Check out these 14 Indianapolis art galleries.]
“When you go into a mural project or any kind of a public art project, you have to consider, okay, what’s going to happen at the other end of it?” Moore said. “Murals are easy, you just paint over them. But that’s just sort of the physical nature. There’s the whole emotional nature of decommissioning that you need to think about.”
Moore explained the life cycle of an Arts Council mural, from blank slate to work of art to blank slate again.
- Dream up an idea.
“Usually the community has an idea of something they want to say,” Moore said. They’ll think about how to present that idea, and, sometimes, the answer is a mural. Next, the community members have to decide a site, so they know how much space the artist will need to express the idea.
- Find the artist who fits.
A public call usually goes out to find artists who are interested in the topic and whose style of art would work for the mural. The Indy Arts Council offers support throughout the process, and can help connect people to artists.
But first, you have to decide how much to pay the artist. Usually, that rate is calculated by the number of dollars per square foot.
- Raise funds and figure out logistics.
Moore suggests defining the terms for the artwork beforehand. Planning how long it will stay up and communicating that to the artist and the community will make it easier for everyone to adjust when the mural gets decommissioned. The terms for the Super Bowl artworks, for example, were included in the contracts for artists and property owners.
To pay the artists, people often crowdfund and ask for donors. Grant funding, like the Public Arts for All program, is also available to help make the process accessible.
The next logistical step is getting permission from the building or site owner. The business owner and the people organizing the mural’s creation will sign an easement agreement, which is a legal document defining an agreement for one party to use another party’s land. The easement is attached to the land, not to the business owner. So if the building is sold, the agreement still applies.
- Paint over it and start again.
Murals become staples of a community, well-known sites tied to the history of the area. This creates an emotional connection that Moore says should be considered when choosing to paint over a mural. Sometimes, a new owner moves in and wants something different. Other times, the mural could need expensive maintenance or has been vandalized.
Whatever the reason, the Arts Council’s best practices suggest letting people know well ahead of time when the mural will be gone. That way, they can take pictures or create a memorial to what once was a neighborhood landmark.
How you can paint your own mural – for FREE
Since 1984, the walls at 205 E. Palmer St. have been covered with public art. Anyone can paint the 10-foot by 10-foot squares – for free, if you bring your own paint.
The building on Indy’s south side has been the Marilyn Rose Center for the last two years. The center was named after Marilyn Rose Simpson, who owned the building, which was the home of a family business called American Tent and Awning. Simpson was a graduate of the Herron School of Art and Design.
When Marilyn acquired the building, people from the graffiti arts program at Herron asked her to donate walls for students to practice.
“Her and grandpa talked it over and gave each student a 10 by 10 section of the wall, and we’ve had graffiti art ever since,” said Jon Simpson, the center’s owner.
Simpson said a piece of art can last from three days to one year, depending on when another artist adds their mark to the space. Since the time frame is uncertain, he encourages artists to take pictures of their creations and tag the Marilyn Rose Center in a post. The center is on Instagram as @themarilynrosecenter and on X as @TheMRCIndy and on Facebook.
Simpson has big plans for recognizing the art, like installing surveillance cameras so he can live-stream artists as they work. Right now, artists spend hundreds of dollars on paint and other supplies and don’t get anything in return, so he wants to create prints to sell using QR codes on the art.
The public can visit the Marilyn Rose Center, which houses artists studios, work spaces and event spaces, 2 p.m to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
A correction was made on April 6, 2024: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect dates of removal for “Dimensional Shadows” on Mass Ave and “Swept Away” in Broad Ripple.
Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young covers services and resources. Contact her at sophie.young@mirrorindy.org.
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