Visit Hot Springs is soliciting proposals for a mural to commemorate Hot Springs' role as the birthplace of Major League Baseball spring training.
The 160-foot-by-35-foot mural will be painted on the south wall of the Craighead Laundry Building adjacent to 105 Convention Boulevard near the Hot Springs Convention Center.
Visit Hot Springs is offering $25,000 to the artist who is selected to create the mural.
Mary Zunick, Visit Hot Springs' liaison to the city's cultural community, said any artist or team of artists with public art or mural experience from the Mid-America Arts Alliance region of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma or Texas is welcome to submit a proposal.
"Artists submitting proposals for the mural should consider the theme of the mural to be 'Historic Hot Springs Baseball Trail' and also should consider the diverse historical figures who were a part of Hot Springs' baseball spring training history -- including Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron," Zunick said. "A mural that offers an opportunity to interact with the mural for photos is preferred."
Zunick said several locations were looked at, but the Craighead building was the best fit.
"It's a prominent location across from the convention center, and with all the projected growth down Malvern Avenue it made the most sense," she said. "By St. Patrick's Day next year we will have an entirely different backdrop on that wall."
Visit Hot Springs contacted Nancy Fish, who owns the building, to ask permission to use the wall for the new mural. Since 2007, a mural painted by artist Merritt Finnell depicting the history of Hot Springs has filled the wall.
"We've had the current mural for several years and parts of it are fading," Fish said. "When they called and asked if it was OK to paint a new mural there, I thought it was a wonderful idea.
"I think it will be beautiful and am excited to see a new mural being painted."
Zunick said she worked closely with the National Park Rotary Club in commissioning its 100th anniversary mural painted by Italian muralist Giuseppe Percivati in the 500 block of Central Avenue in June. Percivati, she said, is returning in February to paint a new Garvan Woodland Gardens mural.
Zunick said she is applying for a grant to offset some of the costs for the project. The deadline for submitting proposals is Feb. 12, with the deadline for completion of the mural Oct. 31.
On March 23 and 24, Visit Hot Springs will host a Baseball Weekend to mark the dedication of the final two plaques in the city's baseball trail, which traces the origins of MLB spring training in Hot Springs in the early 1900s.
The two-day celebration will honor legendary catcher Bill Dickey, of Little Rock, and pitcher Lefty Grove with plaques at the entrance of Whittington Park.
Descendants of Babe Ruth, who trained in Hot Springs and blasted a massive 500-foot home run while playing in a game at Whittington Park, will be in the city for the Baseball Weekend. Baseball legends Ferguson Jenkins and Al Hrabosky will also be in attendance.
"The mural will be a nice image that will hopefully help draw attention to and promote the history on the baseball trail," Zunick said. "This will also be another great addition to downtown."
To obtain a copy of the RFP, email Zunick at [email protected] or call 501-321-2027.
Local on 01/24/2018