By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A dull alleyway that patrons often pass through on their way to and from the BMO Center in downtown is getting a vibrant new look as part of the latest mural initiative.
A team of artists both from Rockford and from out-of-town are turning the walls between buildings at 316 W. State St. into bold and colorful murals. The alleyway will also be illuminated with additional lighting to invite passers-by in.
‘There’s a lot of beige, tan, gray in cities,” said Chase Melendez, the lead artist on the east side of the alley walls. “So it’s cool if people can walk down an alley and all the sudden get hit with some color and some activation and interesting art, hopefully.”
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On the west wall, Rockford-area artists Dustin Eckhardt, Brett Whitaker, Jenny Mathews and Asia Peters will create individual small murals in the bricked-over window sills and archways.
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Melendez, who is from Cincinnati, Ohio, is working on murals here for the second straight summer. Last year, he helped artists Jenny Ustick and Atalie Gagnet create the Rockford Peaches mural at the gateway to Midtown. He also helped them with the 815 mural at 815 E. State St. This year he’s the lead artist for the first time on a Rockford project and getting help from Gagnet.
“I like activating weird walls and weird structures and weird spaces,” he said. “We’re just activating this alley and trying to bring it to life a little bit and make it kind of vibrant and fun.”
Melendez’s mural is abstract, featuring the striking geometric shapes and patterns that are his specialty. He and Gagnet have been working 12-hour days with a goal to complete it within two weeks.
“I like that surprise element, someone walks around the corner and is like, ‘Whoa, when did this get here?’ Or, ‘Wow, this is here,'” he said. “This location is great because you drive by and you catch just a little glimpse of color, and then maybe you want to go around the block and come back and check it out.”
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Melendez and Gagnet worked away Thursday during an Art Alley party held by the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, which puts on the annual mural project in cooperation with multiple sponsors. Food trucks filled Church Street near State Street and music blared from a DJ as the artist continued their work.
This year’s CRE8IV: transformational Art mural initiative features nine large-scale mural projects on 11 walls. Eight are in Rockford and one in Rockton. Most of the 40-plus murals around the region are on prominent, public-facing walls. That makes the alley art somewhat of a departure.
“Art and creativity can live in spaces that maybe you don’t always think of,” said John Groh, president and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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It was an important space to activate because of its proximity to the BMO Center, a major downtown attraction.
“Communities that are thriving, communities that are growing are communities that embrace the arts,” he said. “Where artists are, are a huge indication of thriving, healthy, creative communities.”
Eckhardt, one of the local alley artists who was at Thursday’s event, said the murals inspire Rockford pride.
“I really try to boast having some Rockford pride,” he said. “I feel really happy to live in a time when art is so relevant and I can have access to it.”
He’s handling two mural projects this year: the work in the alley and a mural in Rockton that celebrates the annual migration of American white pelicans to the area. Last year, he painted the Prairie Street Pollinators mural at 5316 N. Second St. Loves Park.
“I was inspired by the murals the first year they went down. … I feel honored to be a part of it now,” he said. “Hopefully it opens doors for more opportunities for me to be an ambassador of the Rockford arts to travel other places and get to paint more things — and hopefully make communities a more beautiful place through it.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas