For the second straight year, students in a special project class at the University of Ïăœ¶ÊÓÆ”APP â Fort Smith received a unique opportunity to apply their artistic learnings by joining street artists from across the globe in painting murals in downtown Fort Smith.
Eleven students in Bryan Alexisâs mural painting class spent a week painting a sprawling mural across the side of The Blue Lion at UAFS Downtown, a music venue owned by UAFS, as part of The Unexpected, a 10 day arts and culture initiative in downtown Fort Smith.
Beginning with a projection on the buildingâs northern wall, students traced the outline of the muralâs design onto the brick before âattackingâ the wall with paintbrushes, filling in the outline with bright reds, yellows and blues.
âLittle by little, it all comes together,â Alexis said.
Given the buildingâs musical roots, the muralâs design was centered around Fort Smith music legend Alphonso Trent.
âBecause of the rich ties to music, I immediately went to, âWhoâs famous in Fort Smith that was also a musician?â Somewhere down in the search, I found Alphonso Trent,â Alexis said. âHe was one of the first African American bandleaders who paved the way for artists such as Duke Ellington. He was doing it first, back in the mid-twenties.â
The result was a stylized portrait of Trent surrounded by colorful renditions of various jazz instruments arranged across the length of the wall.
The mural is also a rare opportunity for students to leave a lasting impact on the cityâs downtown area.
âBeing able to paint a mural like this and meeting different artists from around the world, you really donât get that opportunity at any other school really,â said Ashley Khakeo of Fort Smith, a student in the class. âBeing in Fort Smith, we never thought weâd have a chance to be a part of something like this.â
Alexis agreed, calling the opportunity âan experience like none other.â
âThe students are learning by doing, and itâs something they can immediately apply and use in their career,â Alexis said. âThe students from last year are already getting jobs painting murals around the area. Weâre driving economy, weâre driving creativity, weâre driving the artistic elevation of the region, and thatâs coming from this class. Who could ask for anything more than that?â
Students who painted the mural were:
Alma: Nathan Meyers.
Charleston: Laney Taggart.
Fort Smith: Riley Casher, Brent Cherry, Josh Hendricks, Ashley Khakeo, Kit Ngo and Tien Pham.
Mena: Amber Lane.
Mansfield: Karolyn Manas.
Rudy: Eden Martin.
For more information about the universityâs studio art program, visit .