ITEM PHOTO BY MATT DEMIRS
FONKi of Cambodia/Montreal counts bricks to scale his mural for the 1,708 square foot canvas of 22 Munroe St.
By MATT DEMIRS
Union volunteers filled the downtown Wednesday, not just to prime walls, but also to help turn a budding cultural district into a thriving community.
Despite humidity and scattered showers, the workers prepared walls for the Beyond Walls Mural Festival for artists to begin painting today.
The festival includes 15 murals by 20 artists intended to change the appearance of the city’s Cultural District by the time murals are finished on July 23.
Volunteers flooded the city after the union asked workers to assist with priming walls, despite many not even being Lynn residents.
Diann Stafford of Boston said she loves the mission behind the organization to make this area a better place by beautifying the city with art.
The first female painter to join the Union in Boston, Deb Gilcoine of Quincy, said Beyond Walls is the type of boost Lynn needs.
“It’s like anything else, if your bedroom is a mess you feel bad,” she said. “But when you clean your room and walk in, you feel good about it. When your environment is nice and clean and you feel like you can walk down the street, it makes you feel better.”
The artist set to paint the side of Las Vegas Bar y Restaurante on Munroe Street agreed.
“Art is a way way for a community to break barriers, create bridges between different types of people and start discussion,” said FONKi, who prefers to be known by one name.
As he mapped his design to scale his sketch of his 1,708-square-foot canvas, FONKi spoke about the power of a city embracing art.
“Something that is universal is our environment,” he said. “We are a product of our own environment. People who live in a house which smells bad, you say ‘that’s how it is.’ But when you go somewhere that is good and clean, it has a big impact on you.”
He hopes the murals make people feel good, he said.
FONKi, who arrived from Montreal this week, researched Lynn so his art reflected the city and its residents.
His piece is a metaphor for people who go through a challenge and designed the mural to convey immigration and classism which takes place in this diverse city, he said.
Like the way a special restaurant brings people to a specific city, FONKi said he hopes the same will happen in Lynn and bring people from all over to see the art.
Matt Demirs can be reached at [email protected].
