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Street Art Tallahassee prepares KCCI's SeeTallahassee South Monroe Mural in February 2016.

New Mural Welcoming Sign for SOMO District

New mural a welcoming sign for South Monroe District

A mural welcoming visitors to Tallahassee’s South Monroe district is painted on the north wall of Orion Motorsports, 1215 S. Monroe St. The artwork, a project of the SeeTallahassee Community Catalyst team of the Knight Creative Communities Institute (KCCI), will be visible to thousands of area drivers and pedestrians daily. It is one of a series of projects intended to identify and highlight Tallahassee’s landmarks, unique districts and hidden treasures.

The mural’s location marks the gateway to the South Monroe district and sits adjacent to Cascades Park and the new pedestrian bridge. Illustration of the South Monroe mural is by Libby Armstrong, a local artist and graphic designer. Mural production is by Street Art Tallahassee. The mural is sponsored by KCCI’s SeeTallahassee team and Orion Motorsports.

“The design of this mural is a playful spin on the idea of ‘signage,’ highlighting key elements that make the South Monroe District unique, from BBQ to its many parks to FAMU,” said Alana Taylor, a 2015 KCCI Community Catalyst and team coordinator of the mural.

The 2015 KCCI Community Catalyst team is supporting the communities wayfinding signage project, which is installing more functional, attractive road and location signs to direct citizens and visitors to key area sites. Aiming beyond the constraints of traditional signage, the KCCI team created the SeeTallahassee campaign, which includes not only sense-of-place murals, but also a unique, stylized artisanal map in print and digital form, and an interactive website that will provide information about area locations, features and events.

This multi-faceted campaign supports improvement of local wayfinding systems, invests in arts-based placemaking, and inspires residents and potential residents, particularly students at local colleges and universities, as well as young professionals, to explore hidden gems across Tallahassee’s core districts by showing them unique attributes and landmarks in different districts.

The KCCI team’s planned series of district murals is intended to highlight nearby, primarily walkable locations within Tallahassee’s sense-of-place districts, which include not only South Monroe but also Midtown, Downtown, Market Square, Frenchtown, and more.

“The murals will highlight the theme and location of each district’s can’t-miss landmarks and will bring small moments of beauty to unexpected place,” said Lucas Lindsey, a 2015 KCCI Community Catalyst.

KCCI was created in 2007 and has been annually selecting Tallahassee residents and training them on the economic development concepts related to sense of place and the Creative Class. These Community Catalysts volunteer their time to learn the concepts and implement a project that enhances Tallahassee’s sense of place as a community that would be able to attract and retain the creative class, young professionals and college graduates. KCCI has led a variety of successful programs that have helped create a sense of place throughout Tallahassee while engaging the creative class. KCCI is a program of The Village Square and is funded through private and public donations. For more information, visit www.kccitallahassee.com.