Office of Public Art to Hold Virtual MLK Mural Workshop

The City of Charleston’s Office of Public Art will hold a ZOOM virtual workshop on Thursday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m. This two-hour workshop will teach viewers how to create self-portraits that will become part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. mural at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center.

“In January, we announced the Martin Luther King, Jr. community mural project. While we had initial community painting events, the pandemic made it impossible to continue them,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “This virtual workshop will allow people to continue to be part of the mural in a safe way.”

“This mural reflects our community, (quite literally as the background will be made up of over 700 self-portraits). The virtual workshop will allow participants to paint these self-portraits at home with step-by-step guidance,” said Jeff Pierson, Director of the City’s Office of Public Art.

All workshop materials will be provided. University of Charleston students will help assemble materials during their annual Labor of Love event. Materials can be picked up at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center at 314 Donnally Street September 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and September 9 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Pre-register to reserve your materials at https://forms.gle/2nY8odmgQbn5jmz86. During pre-registration, ZOOM information for the workshop will be provided.

Once the workshop is completed, the City will hold two drop-off events where art will be collected. These will take place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center on September 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and September 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.