CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One month after Charlotte's Black Lives Matter mural was painted on South Tryon Street in Uptown, the city said the road will remain closed through September 30. The mural between Third and Fourth streets was part of a new pedestrian plaza pilot program.
On June 9, the city teamed with “Charlotte is Creative,” and together found local artists to paint a 'Black Lives Mural' on the street filled with offices, a hotel and a lot of pedestrian traffic.
Charlotte artist Kyle Mosher was assigned the letter “I.”
“We all have a shared goal that this is something bigger than ourselves, right, tossing ego and everything aside and the fact that we were able to get 18 plus artists to come together in 48 hours, and have a design approved with zero revisions is really a testament to the city, the artists, and the people involved,” he says.
The city temporarily closed the road to vehicles so residents could enjoy the painting safely. It's been a popular spot ever since with people coming out to take pictures and enjoy the artwork.
"Black Lives Matter" painted on South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte
Just three days after the mural was completed, it was defaced with black tire marks. The artists quickly came back together to fix the damage adding a clear coat on top of the paint to protect it from any future damage.
Kiana Mui said whoever ran over it should have known it wouldn't stay damaged, and that people would make sure it was fixed.
"I’m honestly just so happy to be a part of this really big movement, and inspire people to keep pushing for the Black Lives Matter movement," Mui said.