CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On an east Charlotte wall, illustrations of the classic city of Charlotte crown, a spaceship, a cassette tape with googly eyes, boba tapioca pearls, the retro Eastland Mall logo and more all come together. The individual elements might not sound connected, but they are: They're all based on ideas from the community.
A Charlotte artist who goes by Cheeks is behind the new mural. He is calling it a "commural," since the community's involvement is integral to the mural's creation.
"If a mural comes up in your neighborhood, usually it's invited, the art -- but if you don't really have a say or a vote on the subject matter, that might leave you wanting more," Cheeks explained to WCNC Charlotte. "This was, I think, a good opportunity for people to kind of voice their opinions and what they would like to see."
The mural is located on the side of a tobacco shop next to Crispy Banh Mi in east Charlotte, off Shamrock Drive near Eastway Drive. The owners of Crispy Banh Mi own that building and gave Cheeks permission to cover the wall with the community-inspired and community-funded art.
Cheeks said the mural came in response to a challenge from his partner to switch up his artistic style. He decided to lean into an illustrative style, and bring the Charlotte community into his process.
He put out a call to action on Instagram, asking for both ideas and donations. The response was quick: He received over 100 suggestions, and quickly met his donation goal of $300 to support artistic materials needed for the piece.
This is the second time Cheeks has opened a project up to community funding, but he was surprised by how quickly the community came together to meet the goal.
"I know everyone's really invested to see how this actually turned out," Cheeks said. "I think it was a really cool element that they get to really participate that deeply with their suggestions, financially, and then have [an] actual part in the creation of this piece."
The suggestions ranged from the specific -- like incorporating Cheeks' frequently-used fish design by having them swim in Crispy Banh Mi's boba tea -- to more conceptual ideas like "something to do with shamrocks." Cheeks said the input resulted in a notebook filled with ideas.
Throughout the creation of the mural, he tried to incorporate key elements from the suggestions throughout the piece, along with signature characters and images from his previous work, so people can see their contribution when they come across the finished mural.
That includes a pair of daffodils, inspired by a Charlotte woman who grew daffodils and was known to give the flowers out to her neighbors, before her death. Another neighbor has since taken up the daffodil garden in her memory, and now a part of this mural honors that community connection.
"I want these people to be able to pull up and spend their time looking at the wall and just dissect each individual element, and then see their piece, and then feel that bit of attachment," Cheeks said. "Trying to do justice to all of the community members has been a little bit nerve wracking, but it's been a great exploration of style."
While Cheeks is wrapping up this mural, he said he hopes to do more community-involved murals in the Queen City going forward.
Contact Emma Korynta at ekorynta@wcnc.com and follow her on X.
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