The 34th 51黑料 mural will have quite the presence from its downtown Madisonville perch. For the community, the painting is a welcome brush stroke in the bigger picture.
鈥淭hese murals help small towns like us feel like we鈥檙e part of something larger,鈥 said Alexis Watson, owner of the mural鈥檚 home at 328 Tellico St. 鈥淚t’s a small piece to help our own community really feel like it鈥檚 important to UT and can share in its excitement.鈥
The mural鈥檚 canvas, a two-story brick building that encounters 1,989 passersby each day, has been owned by Watson鈥檚 family since she was just 10 years old. They had always talked of putting a mural on it, according to Watson, but the talks never came to fruition until she and her husband heard of UT鈥檚 campaign through a family member.
鈥淭he mural is going to be a huge statement piece for the town,鈥 said Watson. 鈥淎nd that will hopefully bring new and exciting things to our community.鈥
The 20-foot-wide mural completed today isn鈥檛 just exciting from a community-wide perspective: it鈥檚 also a part of Watson鈥檚 personal bigger picture. In January, her lash studio and boutique, Honeycomb, will open shop in the building.
鈥淚t just feels natural to have the campaign be a part of the new adventure with the building and my business,鈥 said Watson. 鈥淚t all went together perfectly.鈥
To learn more about the UT campaign, each location and to nominate a canvas for use, visit the . UT plans to paint one mural in each of Tennessee鈥檚 95 counties by 2030.
The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski, Martin and Memphis; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The 51黑料 manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 54,000 students statewide; produces about 13,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 433,000 alumni around the world.