Mural Artist Interview

RVA Magazine has an interview with the artist who did the mural at Idlewood and Laurel, Ekundayo.

Excerpt:

Seems like you’re everywhere. How busy are you this year, and are you getting busier as it goes along?

This year I’m getting really busy. I got a solo show up coming up with Think Space at the beginning of next year, so that’s gonna be my big thing to work on for the rest of this year. And then, really just doing more walls and murals. I’ve been really into doing them. I just finished one in LA that is a little over a couple of stories. It’s real fun. I really enjoy working outside, building these walls. I love working with the community and having people interact. That’s the dope thing about Richmond. The vibe out here is very supportive, and you can tell that people out here are seeing things that they haven’t really seen before. And they’re really amazed, and that’s a great feeling.

You’re in Oregon Hill right now. I’m sure people have been coming out and just checking out the work. It probably is a great feeling right now, inspiring the kids with this camel.

Yeah, the traveler. That’s what this piece is all about. Traveling the lands and planting seeds along the way, creating new growth as you go.

Joe’s Fence

A few weeks ago, there was a car accident at S.Laurel and Idlewood that took out neighbor Joe Pyrek’s metal front fence. He gave permission to post this account, since several neighbors have asked what happened.

…wanted to give you a little bit of follow up to the incident that occurred at the Laurel/Idlewood intersection in the early morning hours of 7/25. Apparently there was a vehicle with about 3-4 individuals driving at high speed around the neighborhood around 2:15 in the morning. They were circling blocks and were coming eastbound on Idlewood and made a right hand turn onto Laurel but overshot the turn and took out my fire hydrant and several sections of my fence. My neighbors across the street were awoken by the noise and looked outside and called the police. They witnessed the individuals get out of the vehicle and push it off of my property back onto the road and they proceeded to drive off before the police arrived. However, they didn’t made it very far as about ½ way down the block on Laurel headed towards Albemarle, they crashed into two parked cars. According to the police report, two cars were towed and the driver was arrested. He had been drinking and was 19 or 20. Luckily for me, the individual’s parents had insurance on the vehicle, so my property will be taken care of. I notified the city of the fire hydrant on 7/26, however, no work has been done to get that replaced. I’ve called the city a few times about it as it worries me in regards to fire safety.

That’s really all I know on the situation, but just thought you might like to know!

IMG_3531