((PKG)) BALTIMORE MURALIST
((Banner: The Muralist))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera: Mike Burke))
((Producers: Faiza Elmasry, Jacquelyn DePhillips))
((Map: Baltimore, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
I’ve been drawing for a very long time but when it comes to
doing my art successfully, it’s been four years.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
How many murals that I have done in Baltimore? I’m
guessing around 10.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
As an artist, I make work for myself. I always have like
women in mind. If I can tell a story you can relate to it, that’s
great. If I can pull you in as well, that’s great. It’s all about
narrative and storytelling. That’s it.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
So, I did this piece for Art at Work maybe a year ago. We
have a black woman as the center of her community. And
you have things like knowledge, music, culture, history and
they all revolve around her.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
We’re looking at a project I did for A Revolutionary Summer.
It is a mural depicting black female writers. You have Toni
Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston and Octavia Butler. And then
you have a young black student on a pile of books reading
about these amazing women.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
Kids actually read here. So, it fit perfectly that we were
doing a mural about black women writers because this is
actually their nook that they read in.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
This is actually my second outdoor mural. The artist that
drew the Statue of Liberty, they originally drew it as a black
woman and whoever was in charge of it was like, “no, you
need to make her white”. ((*there are differing origin stories
about the statue*)) When I draw a black woman, I focus on
uplifting us. And I think people need to know that the
original Statue of Liberty, on paper at least, was a black
woman.
((NATS))
((Maria Wolfe, Street Art Photographer))
My name is Maria Wolfe. I am a street art and mural
photographer and I have an account called BaltiMurals on
Instagram, which captures and documents all of the art in
Baltimore.
((NATS))
((Maria Wolfe, Street Art Photographer))
There has been a huge kind of expansion of the street art
and mural scene in Baltimore over the last couple of years. I
know that there is art always going up and I think the city has
a lot to do with it. BOPA, which is Baltimore office of
Promotion and the Arts, does a lot of grants in the city to
artists to come and paint murals. There’s over 300
neighborhoods in Baltimore and each one is unique and the
art is unique to each location as well.
((NATS))
((Maria Wolfe, Street Art Photographer))
I love Megan’s colors. I love the figures that she puts in the
murals. I just find her work extremely intriguing. It is some
of my favorite in the whole, entire city.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
I never know what I am going to put up until I see the wall.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
It is so satisfying to be able to have such a large canvas for
people to see my work. I love narrative and I love
storytelling and just imagine being able to tell your story to
so many people walking past. I am just very appreciative of
where I am. It‘s been an amazing journey and I cannot wait
to continue to, like I said, evolve as an artist. There is so
many things I want to do and accomplish. And I’m very
grateful, like I see my progress and I’m proud of myself.
((NATS))
((Banner: The Muralist))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera: Mike Burke))
((Producers: Faiza Elmasry, Jacquelyn DePhillips))
((Map: Baltimore, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
I’ve been drawing for a very long time but when it comes to
doing my art successfully, it’s been four years.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
How many murals that I have done in Baltimore? I’m
guessing around 10.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
As an artist, I make work for myself. I always have like
women in mind. If I can tell a story you can relate to it, that’s
great. If I can pull you in as well, that’s great. It’s all about
narrative and storytelling. That’s it.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
So, I did this piece for Art at Work maybe a year ago. We
have a black woman as the center of her community. And
you have things like knowledge, music, culture, history and
they all revolve around her.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
We’re looking at a project I did for A Revolutionary Summer.
It is a mural depicting black female writers. You have Toni
Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston and Octavia Butler. And then
you have a young black student on a pile of books reading
about these amazing women.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
Kids actually read here. So, it fit perfectly that we were
doing a mural about black women writers because this is
actually their nook that they read in.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
This is actually my second outdoor mural. The artist that
drew the Statue of Liberty, they originally drew it as a black
woman and whoever was in charge of it was like, “no, you
need to make her white”. ((*there are differing origin stories
about the statue*)) When I draw a black woman, I focus on
uplifting us. And I think people need to know that the
original Statue of Liberty, on paper at least, was a black
woman.
((NATS))
((Maria Wolfe, Street Art Photographer))
My name is Maria Wolfe. I am a street art and mural
photographer and I have an account called BaltiMurals on
Instagram, which captures and documents all of the art in
Baltimore.
((NATS))
((Maria Wolfe, Street Art Photographer))
There has been a huge kind of expansion of the street art
and mural scene in Baltimore over the last couple of years. I
know that there is art always going up and I think the city has
a lot to do with it. BOPA, which is Baltimore office of
Promotion and the Arts, does a lot of grants in the city to
artists to come and paint murals. There’s over 300
neighborhoods in Baltimore and each one is unique and the
art is unique to each location as well.
((NATS))
((Maria Wolfe, Street Art Photographer))
I love Megan’s colors. I love the figures that she puts in the
murals. I just find her work extremely intriguing. It is some
of my favorite in the whole, entire city.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
I never know what I am going to put up until I see the wall.
((NATS))
((Megan Lewis, Muralist & Illustrator))
It is so satisfying to be able to have such a large canvas for
people to see my work. I love narrative and I love
storytelling and just imagine being able to tell your story to
so many people walking past. I am just very appreciative of
where I am. It‘s been an amazing journey and I cannot wait
to continue to, like I said, evolve as an artist. There is so
many things I want to do and accomplish. And I’m very
grateful, like I see my progress and I’m proud of myself.
((NATS))
