Artists create works during a previous Urban Scrawl in the Franklinton Arts District. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Travis Hoeswischer.
Artists will create live works in front of an audience as the Urban Scrawl mural painting festival celebrates its 20 year anniversary.
The event will take place Oct. 9-11 at 400 W. Rich St. in the Franklinton Arts District, according to the event’s website. Travis Hoewischer, executive director of the Franklinton Arts District, said Urban Scrawl is one of the oldest mural festivals in Columbus. More than 55 artists will paint individual works on pieces of plywood throughout the weekend as part of an exhibition, competition and celebration.?
“Our mission statement is empowering creative community, and that starts with creating economic opportunities for artists and putting them on display and letting people experience their talent,” Hoewischer said.
Artists will begin creating their pieces at 6 p.m. Friday and complete them Sunday night, Hoewischer said. Awards will be presented at the end of the weekend, and the finished works will be auctioned in the spring to raise money for the neighborhood and fund Art for Franklinton, according to the website.?
Urban Scrawl began in 2007, before the neighborhood was known as the Franklinton Arts District, Hoewischer said. At the time, only a small group of artists worked in the neighborhood, but now, 400 W. Rich St. and the surrounding properties are home to more than 150 artists, he said.
“We create a landscape where they can create something, and we don’t guide anything of what they do,” Hoewischer said. “Once the jury makes their selections and they’re in the festival, they’re free to create whatever they want.”
“Can You Find Me,” a mixed-media piece made by Urban Scrawl artist Lauren Ashleigh Benjamin. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lauren Ashleigh Benjamin.
Artists are selected to participate in Urban Scrawl through an open call where they submit a sketch, an idea for their piece and a portfolio to an experienced jury, Hoewischer said.?
Urban Scrawl also includes five emerging artists, each under 18 years old? This allows younger artists to work alongside more established artists who can mentor them throughout the process, Hoewischer said.?
For its 20th anniversary, Urban Scrawl is expanding from two days to three, Hoewischer said. The event’s live music will also move from a smaller stage inside the event lot to Rich Street, where local Columbus-based band Scrawl will headline on Saturday.?
Another addition this year is a carnival-themed arcade, featuring games with an artistic twist. After completing a circuit of games, Hoewischer said attendees will receive a ticket for a customized art experience, such as having their portrait drawn, a poem written about them or their tarot read.
First-time participant Amber Glendell McClendon, a Columbus painter, said she uses thick watercolor and charcoal to create highly emotive self-portraits and surrealist scenes.?
“I don’t do a lot of public art, so this will actually be one of the bigger pieces that I have done,” Glendell McClendon said. “I love that they really do give so many people an opportunity to just come out and paint and share their work.”
Creating art in front of an audience will also be different from Glendell McClendon’s typically private artistic process, she said.?
“My work is highly emotive, so there are feelings of excitement and joy and the vulnerability and the power of being able to share your artwork with people,” Glendell McClendon said.
Access to Columbus’ art community has played an important role in Glendell McClendon’s own career, she said. After returning to Columbus in 2020, she became involved in programs that connected her with local artists and led to opportunities to work on public murals.
“I feel like [art] has honestly been a place where I got to meet what I truly felt like was my community in Columbus,” Glendell McClendon said. “It made Columbus feel like a home for me that also allowed me to grow and explore, like, who I am.”?
Artists work on their pieces as attendees gather during a previous Urban Scrawl in the Franklinton Arts District. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Travis Hoewischer.
Returning participant and local painter Jordan Burton said the live format allows attendees to return throughout the weekend and see how a piece develops, rather than only seeing the finished product.?
“I feel like they can just see it to believe it and ask you questions as you’re doing it, and keep a timeline of when they’re checking in, so people can check in on the first day, and then check in on the third day and then they can actually see the whole process,” Burton said.
Burton also said Urban Scrawl is a different experience from viewing art in a traditional gallery, because attendees can freely approach artists to learn about their work as it is being created.
“I feel like this just switches the whole meaning of art in general to where it’s like, ‘You need to have a big wallet to come in here and just look at art if you want to,’ or like, ‘You don’t need to understand certain values or history of art to just come enjoy these things, because it’s just free,’” Burton said.
For Burton, he said the goal isn’t for his piece to turn out exactly as planned.?
“This is my piece and I’m gonna do it,” Burton said. “I don’t care if anybody likes it or not likes it. I’m here to do this and that’s what I’m doing.Whether it’s good or bad, it’s still all just a learning experience and experimentation.”
Returning participant and local artist Lauren Ashleigh Benjamin said she has been in the Franklinton area for nearly eight years, and first experienced Urban Scrawl while she had a studio space that attendees could visit during the event. She said she participated as an artist for the first time in 2023.
“It’s the main event, every year, where I get to meet more and more of my peers and other amazing artists in the area,” Benjamin said. “I think it is the hub of real artists in Franklinton. The community here is just solid, and yeah, can’t help but come back to it.”
Benjamin said working side-by-side with other artists can cause her to compare her work to what others are creating around her. At the same time, she said working beside other artists gives participants opportunities to learn from one another.
“Everybody works in their different ways, and so you’ll have breaks of time where you can walk around and talk to people while they’re locked in, but you’re not, and [there is] a lot of learning,” Benjamin said.?
The live setting also lets Benjamin connect with people while her artwork is still taking shape, she said, and she has had conversations with attendees who became emotional after connecting with what she was painting.
“It’s all good, it’s all a party and it’s fun, and rain or shine too. I feel like in the past we’ve made it a good time, it’s like for me, yes, art is huge, but the people are just bigger to me that weekend,” Benjamin said.
