WILMINGTON — After months of conducting a search to find the right artists to oversee the Bijou Mural Park Project, the Arts Council of New Hanover County and Wilmington announced a husband-and-wife team will lead the project.
Jhonattan and Samanatha Arango, also known as Anon, have been selected out of 34 submissions received. From South Florida, they were chosen due to their “knowledge, experience, and professionalism” in scaling large-scale murals, according to a press release.
READ MORE: Mural artist wanted for Bijou Park project
Their work often features portraiture and flora and fauna, primarily by using triangles to create three-dimensional imagery. Both artists have BFAs in graphic design and more than 12 years of branding experience, having created 30-plus murals throughout America. In 2022 alone their work was presented in Texas, Colorado, Montana, Utah and Ohio.
They have done work for Cape Canaveral as part of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and scored the WESTAF’s Public Art Archive’s “Have You Seen My Public Art Map,” featured in Forbes magazine. The duo also has participated in the renowned Miami Art Basel and Aqua Art Miami.
“Their work is an exploration into the subject of interconnection and rudimentarily mimics the function of triangles as the most fundamental fabric of reality,” the release noted.
Anon often incorporates a community component, bringing in hundreds of people to participate in a municipality’s mural creation.
The Wilmington artwork will be scaled on the north side of 221 N. Front St. overlooking the newly renovated Bijou Park. Work will take place through May with two community paint days scheduled.
Members that wish to participate can join Saturday and Sunday, May 13 and 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The goal is to further engage the community with opportunities to partake in the work as the art piece is closer to being finalized,” the selection committee wrote in a release.
Anon received a $25,000 grant to complete the work, funded by PNC Foundation, one of the stakeholders involved in the public-private partnership. The mural is a joint project supported by the arts council, PNC, Wilmington Downtown Inc., and multiple downtown developers, including East West Partners, Port Property, J. Clark Hipp and Susan Dullard, CLD Engineering, Jon T. and Denise M. Vincent and McKinley Building Corporation.
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