Painting the Town
Artists turn Meridian into outdoor gallery
By Glenda Sanders , Contributing writer
Meridian is becoming an outdoor art gallery thanks to eye-catching , colorful street murals being painted around town by a group of local artists .
The street art runs the gamut from a four-story mural featuring famous native son Jimmie Rodgers to vibrant , multicolored collages at Mia ’ s Café and Freddie ’ s Fine Spirits .
The group behind the artwork is the Meridian Museum Art Collective .
“ Everybody is obsessed with the murals and they appreciate that we are doing this to help beautify Meridian ,” said Leslie Carruth , an art teacher at Lamar School and one of the members of the collective .
The street murals are becoming popular with residents and visitors to the Queen City who use them as backdrops for their selfies .
“ We want to grow our city ,” said collective member Cary Haycox , who teaches art at Northeast Lauderdale High School . “ We want it to move forward and if that means popping a little color on the walls and bringing interest and reason for people to be out downtown walking around and visiting , then that is where we start .”
The collective falls under the auspices of the Meridian Museum of Art .
Other members of the group include Marsha Iverson , a retired art teacher from Meridian Public
Schools ; Daniel Ethridge , coordinator and instructor of the graphic design technology program at Meridian Community College ; and Kris Gianakos , a flight simulator instructor at NAS Meridian and art enthusiast .
“ We really love what we do . We are a great team ,” Carruth noted . “ We are all like a little family .”
The group of artists were brought together nearly two years ago .
Ethridge and Haycox were working on a mural near Dumont Plaza to honor David Ruffin , a Whynot native who rose to fame as a member of The Temptations .
The two men reached out to other local artists to help with the project .
Unveiled in early March 2021 , the Ruffin mural received favorable community reaction .
A few weeks later , many of these same artists worked on a mural around the corner from the first that featured bright yellow daffodils and the saying “ Have a Daffodil Day .” Allie ’ s Daffodil Day honors Carruth ’ s daughter , Allie , who was six years old when she passed away following an accident in 2017 .
In working on the two murals , the five artists , who range in age from 40 to almost 70 , discovered they share a passion for art , a love of education and a desire to influence others to create art .
4 • MERIDIAN LIFE