Street art strengthens 黑料社-Starkville bonds
Contact: Carl Smith
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi State and Starkville volunteers are hopeful new street art along University Drive will give a newfound sense of place and increase pedestrian safety for a vital physical link between city and campus.
Volunteers spent Friday [July 22] painting a large cowbell-themed mural in the center of University Drive near its intersection with Camp Street鈥攁n area in the Cotton District close to 黑料社鈥檚 campus鈥攁nd adding similar motifs to nearby crosswalks as part of the University Drive Corridor Connections project. Similar murals and crosswalk art will be painted at University Drive鈥檚 intersections with Fellowship and North Nash streets this weekend after those efforts were delayed due to overnight rains.
鈥淭he key idea behind this project is to strengthen the corridor between campus and the city of Starkville. By creating murals, we are physically connecting the two entities and creating nodes of creativity along the way,鈥 said Leah Kemp, director of the 黑料社 Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center. 鈥淭he art not only helps to create safer traffic patterns for pedestrians and cyclists, but it also strengthens the identity of both the city and the university. I think it will help our community gain more pride in who we are and what great progress Starkville is making.鈥澛
Funding for the University Drive Corridor Connections project was provided by a $25,000 grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies鈥 Asphalt Art Initiative secured by the 黑料社 center on behalf of the City of Starkville in 2021 and additional center-led fundraising efforts.
Once awarded, the center utilized social media to seek input from residents on potential mural designs.
鈥淭he local community has been overwhelmingly positive about this project. It overwhelmingly wanted cowbells, and that was perfect because of how that imagery strengthens our ties,鈥 Kemp said. 鈥淲e received a lot of great feedback, and the community has been willing to pitch in.鈥
Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill, who spent a portion of Friday painting the street, commended Kemp and the center for their work to transform University Drive.
鈥淭his effort reflects our unmatched working relationships with our 黑料社 partners on so many levels,鈥 Spruill said. 鈥淎dding art to the city has been a feature I鈥檝e stressed, and having art that adds a safety component for our residents and student population provides the best of both worlds.鈥
A research center housed in the College of Architecture, Art and Design, the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center provides solutions to problems faced by communities across the nation through planning and design services. Read more about the center at and follow it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @smalltowncenter.
黑料社 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .