NW Alliance planning to start Kendall Perkins Park mural repainting next week

March 24, 2021 | 12:09 am

Updated March 23, 2021 | 10:29 pm

Photo by Katie Pickens

The Northwest Neighborhood Alliance announced Tuesday that plans are underway to begin repainting the mural at Kendall Perkins Park, a project that will incorporate paintings from a number of local artists that exemplify African-American heritage.

The mural was vandalized with racist messages and symbols in early January.

If weather permits, artist Aaron Kizer will begin priming the wall with black paint next week. Alliance Chairperson Rafe Buckner said his hope was to see new images being painted within two weeks. 

“Everything’s dependent on the weather. But I talked to Aaron, and he’s ready to go,” Buckner said. “K.O. Lewis — he’s the assistant principal at Owensboro High School — is on board. He said he’s already got his stuff locked up.” 

Artist Liza Dukes will also paint a section of the mural, Buckner added.

With Daviess County Fiscal Court and the City of Owensboro contributing funds toward the mural’s repainting, the Alliance also hopes to start the repainting process with multiple artists contributing at once instead of just one. 

“The first couple of images we put up with Aaron, our money was a little tighter before, so we’ve got a little bit of leeway now,” Buckner said. “We’ll have way more images up there than last time. That’s the hope anyway.” 

The Alliance is also gearing up for another painting project at Kendall Perkins Park. On April 10, an artist will begin sketching kid-friendly artwork and inspiring messages inside the park’s restrooms. The sketches will be filled in with paint afterward. 

Buckner said all of the paints and art supplies needed for the restroom project were donated by Sherwin-Williams. 

March 24, 2021 | 12:09 am

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