- The Bright Walls Finale took place in Downtown Jackson one year ago this week.
- The festival, beginning in 2018, has brought 75 murals to Jackson.
- The Emerging Technology and Art (ETA) Festival is scheduled for mid-October and will include a variety of immersive art forms.
This week marks one year since Jackson's Bright Walls finale. With the streets of downtown lined with murals, people of Jackson were left wondering "What's next?" It's time to find out.
Jacqueline Austin, co-director of Bright Walls, explained that five years ago, she and the other other members of Jackson Young Professionals were brainstorming ways to put Jackson on the map.
Today, that vision from each member of Jackson Young Professionals is a reality. In Downtown Jackson, you'll see 75 murals done by artists all over the world, and close to home.
Clay McAndrews, founder and co-director of the Bright Walls Festival painted a mural himself in 2019.
McAndrews shared, "It's a peace sign, and ultimately it's a universal sign and it's uplifting and positive. There's been countless photos I've seen tagged of people standing in front of my mural and holding up the peace sign and sharing that with their friends and family. Ultimately, that was my goal, is to use it (the mural) as an interactive way to connect with other people and share it with the world."
Bright Walls has brightened up the entire downtown area, and brought people in the doors of local businesses, boosting Jackson's economy and causing visitors to stumble across businesses they may have never found.
McAndrews continued, "We think Bright Walls has really been a springboard for other organizations and other festivals to take place in Jackson and really think creatively about, 'What could we do? What could draw more people to Jackson?'"
They hope the answer is an Emerging Technology and Art (ETA) festival coming in October. It'll be a celebration of the intersections of art and technology, full of immersive experiences.
Matt Rozenski, technical coordinator of the ETA Festival, says, "I think our original concept was going to be very digital. Lots of lasers, lots of projectors, lots of lights. But, as we started digging and considering artists, we realized that all media art is a much deeper rabbit hole than we could have ever anticipated."
Greg Stevenson, entertainment coordinator of the ETA Festival, adds, "The best part is just to watch everyone go 'Wow! This is amazing! I never thought we'd have this in Jackson,' and that phrase and similar phrases is what's motivating a lot of this."
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