Mural dedicated

Mural dedicated

‘ Songs from the Fields’ honors regional heritage

ralphhardin@gmail.com On May 31, a special unveiling/ dedication ceremony was held for the newest in a series of murals in West Memphis.

Local dignitaries were on hand to dedicate “Songs from the Fields,” by mural artist Kiersten Williams. The mural, located at 108 E. Broadway (the corner of Missouri and Broadway) in West Memphis, features a stylized boll weevil with guitar neck wings flying over a cotton field.

Funding for the project was provided by Main Street West Memphis and DeltaARTS, with support for DeltaARTS provided in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and by the National Endowment for the Arts. The artist’s supplies were donated by TrueValue of West Memphis.

“During the month of May, communities all over the state have been focusing on elements of their history that make them who they are,” DeltaARTS executive director Amelia Barton said at the dedication. “Music is one of our community's major contributions to the world, and this mural reflects the struggles and successes related to this legacy that began in the Delta cotton fields with work songs and field hollers created and sung by the slaves as they worked.”

Barton said she knew Williams was the artist for the job when she saw initial concept designs.

“To me, it (the mural) shows that from two struggles — slavery and the destructive boll weevil — came a wonderful legacy that is reflected in the music played every day on our reinstated KWEM radio station at ASU Mid-South,” Barton said. “Thank you, Kiersten, for this imaginative and soulful interpretation of the history of our musical legacy.”

Barton also thanked Main Street West Memphis for support in funding the project, and thanked the Arkansas Arts Council for its continued support of DeltaARTS.

The dedication was part of a “Blues and Brews” event, and Barton added a special “thank you” to the crowd and to “DJ Wildbill Williams for the blues, and Arkansas Distributing Company for the brews!”

By Ralph Hardin