Community Art Projects
How to Participate | Important Dates | Meet the Artist
The Duluth Public Arts Commission (DPAC) & the City of Duluth are launching a contactless community grid mural this spring (April/May 2021).
DPAC has commissioned Georgia artist, Catlanta to design the mural (pictured below), which will be 12’ x 4’ when fully assembled. The design of the mural captures the spirit of Duluth and conveys a message of hope, recovery, and community.
The mural will be divided into 192 grid increments (6” x 6” each). The grid panels will be painted by community members, who will be able to do a contactless pick-up on April 19 during the hours of 11am to 6pm and drop-off of painting supplies and/or finished panels between April 19 and May 3. The 192 painted canvas panels will be collected, assembled, and put on display in the City of Duluth during Duluth Art Month starting on May 14 during Art Month's Fridays-N-Duluth.
How to Participate
Anyone is welcome to participate! Click here to reserve your kit(s) now (max of 4 per household).
We will have free pre-assembled art supply bags at the Festival Center stage ready for pick up. Because we only have a limited number of panels (192), we are inviting community members to pre-register for the bag pick-up. Only one panel/bag per person please.
Each bag will contain paint, a 6” x 6” canvas panel, a brush, and a reference square. This reference square is your assigned portion of the grid. For detailed information on painting your square, check out the participant information here.
Important Dates
| Pick Up Kits: April 19 11am-6pm |
Pre-assembled kits will be available at the Festival Center stage. If you pre-register for a kit, it will be available under your last name. If you did not pre-register, any unclaimed kits will available on a first come, first served basis starting April 23. |
| Last Day to Drop Off Completed Kits: April 19-May 3 |
You can drop off your finished painting between April 19 and May 3 at City Hall reception. |
| May 14 Project on Display: |
The project will be on display starting on May 14 at Art Month's Fridays-N-Duluth. |
Commemorative Prints!
"Spirit of Hope" prints available for preorder until May 31. Click HERE to get yours while they last!
Donations to the Public Art program are also accepted online.
Meet Catlanta
Catlanta aka Rory Hawkins, is an Atlanta based artist primarily known for his colorful and fun paintings of cats. Rory has produced hundreds of paintings under the moniker ‘Catlanta’, a name that grew from a few cats Rory spray painted throughout the city of Atlanta in 2011.
The cats, three-legged with dots for eyes and hearts on their chests, quickly became known as an Atlanta street art character as they appeared on public walls and overpasses around town. Inspired by nondestructive street art movements like Free Art Friday, Rory transitioned from painting cats on walls to creating small hand painted wooden cutouts of his iconic three-legged cat which he hides around town for anyone to find. Rory shares photo clues of the piece’s location and invites his followers to track down and keep any kitten that they can find. Since he began hiding art pieces in 2011, Rory has shared well over 1,000 pieces of art. These ‘art drops’ are meant to highlight the people, places and events that make Atlanta and other cities unique while inspiring exploration and engagement with the community where the artwork is hidden.
In addition to painting and hiding cats, Rory is an accomplished mural artist with large outdoor works in Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Costa Rica. He has worked with several local and national brands on a variety of projects from label designs to chalkboard art and has volunteered with organizations like One Love Generation and Paint Love to lead art workshops for Atlanta area students. He lives in East Atlanta, and enjoys evening walks around his neighborhood, Falcons football and taking hot baths.