New Mural Announced for Downtown Frankfort: “Better Together” to be painted on VFW Post 4075 building

New Mural Announced for Downtown Frankfort: “Better Together” to be painted on VFW Post 4075 building

The Arts Downtown public art exhibition is growing. Folks will soon see a new mural materialize on the building of the VFW Post 4075 on Second St. 


Josephine Sculpture Park conducted a national call for a new public mural, resulting in 65 artists from the U.S. and beyond submitting their qualifications for consideration. After a juried selection process and collaboration with VFW Post 4075 members, artist Mauricio Ramirez was selected.


Ramirez is a visual artist creating contemporary murals, commercial and fine art throughout the United States. Ramirez creates artwork that crosses borders and boundaries. His murals take on the voice and character of the neighborhoods they adorn, often with nods to culture and iconic figures and a focus on diversity. 


Ramirez states, “As an artist, I hope to lead by example, by creating images that not only remind communities of their strengths but inspire them to enhance their own cultural beauty that is both embedded in the past and the future.” 


The mural will reflect diversity, equity and inclusion and celebrate local history, specifically the 1964 March on Frankfort as well as the role that veterans played in the national civil rights movement. On March 5, 1964, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson (who served in the U.S. Army during WWII), and many of Kentucky's civil rights leaders marched with an estimated 10,000 people down Capital Avenue to peacefully demonstrate against segregation and discrimination. The march helped the passage of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act in 1966 that made discrimination illegal in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 


The artist and VFW members were inspired by stories of several Kentucky veterans including Anna Mack Clarke, born in Lawrenceburg, and Whitney Young from Shelby County. Both attended Kentucky State University in Frankfort. Clarke helped end segregation and discriminatory practices at the base where she served. Young's work was considered instrumental in breaking down the barriers of segregation and inequality that held back African Americans.


The role that veterans played in the civil rights movement and the fact that the VFW Post 4075 building was on the March on Frankfort route make the VFW wall a perfect location for a mural with this subject matter.


On Wednesday, July 26, stop by anytime between 12 to 4pm to meet Ramirez, watch the creation process, and pick up a paintbrush to fill in a section. No painting experience is required, and all ages are welcome.


Artist Mauricio Ramirez is painting a new mural at the VFW Post 4075! Stop by


This mural is commissioned artwork by the City of Frankfort in partnership with the Josephine Sculpture Park, with federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. 


If you would like more information about this program, or if you would like to make a donation to support public art projects in Frankfort, please visit josephinesculpturepark.org/exhibits-public.


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