The creation of four vivid murals painted by local artists was announced Thursday in a partnership between The World Games 2022 and Hibbett | City Gear.
The murals will be on public display at various locations in Jefferson and Shelby Counties.
“It’s the Right Time” is the theme of the legacy mural project, which is centered around The World Games 2022 message promoting diversity and inclusion with public artwork. According to the announcement, the message hones in on the topics of acceptance, kindness, teamwork and compassion.
Nick Sellers, CEO of The World Games 2022, touched on the artwork’s theme.
“More than ever, we need positive reminders of all we can achieve when we embrace our differences and work together,” said Sellers. “Our goal with The World Games is not only to bring an exciting international sports competition to Birmingham, but to also leave a legacy of lasting improvements to our community and state. Our legacy mural project is a big part of that effort, and we are thankful to be working with an excellent partner in Hibbett | City Gear.”
Officials representing both entities of the partnership played witness to artist Meghan McCollum’s work on the first mural located at Pepper Place near Third Avenue South. The theme of the mural is “It’s the Right Time to Believe in Birmingham.”
Hibbett | City Gear CEO Mike Longo expressed his excitement over the mural campaign partnership with The World Games 2022.
“We are excited to partner with The World Games 2022 on the ‘It’s the Right Time’ mural campaign that features talented artists in our community,” said Longo. “We have called Birmingham home for over 75 years and we’re proud to welcome others, like The World Games, to our beautiful city. We are looking forward to seeing these murals come to life and the Opening Ceremony next summer.”
The locations of the three other murals will be announced in the future.
An online contest was announced by executive vice president of The World Games 2022 Kathy Boswell which allows citizens to vote on determining the themes of one of the murals.
The World Games 2022 Birmingham will launch a social media campaign on October 18 allowing fans to choose from four different phrases for the final mural. The winner will be announced on social media on Monday, November 8.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
