Community Spotlight: Valentines Murals in Little Five Points | Main Street America
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A couple poses in front of the Valentine's mural in Little Five Points. Photo courtesy of Little Five Points Business Association.

Each year, Little Five Points in Atlanta, Georgia, invites the community to celebrate Valentine's Day in style with their Valentine's Murals promotion. Community members can pay to have initials, names, or other romantic messages added to a large mural in the district. All funds support the work of the Little Five Points Business Association. We spoke to Reid Koski, Main Street Coordinator for Little Five Points, to learn more.

How did you come up with the idea for the Valentine’s Murals?

Before the pandemic, we used to sell sponsor space on a wall for our Halloween Festival & Parade and had a local artist paint brand logos. However, when we were unable to host that event in 2021, we decided to turn the concept on its head and do something that both supported our individual community members and raised money for our organization. Our district is known for its colorful street art, and we thought that giving people the opportunity to include a loved one among L5P's other art would make a wonderful Valentine's surprise! The unveiling has become a fun, feel-good tradition for our community and this is our fifth year running the heart mural promotion.

A couple poses in front of their section of the mural celebrating 50 years of marriage

Who is the artist? What was the selection process?

This year's Valentine's Mural artist is Gums (@_sw0llen.gum). Gums is a local graffiti artist who, last year, painted one of our patio tables as part of our General Motors Main Street placemaking grant.

How do the Valentine’s Murals help support the Little 5 Points Business Association?

Every dollar we get in we put back into our community. There is never a lack of ways that money helps us support safety, business promotion, and community activities.

What feedback have you received in past years? How does the community feel about the promotion?

The feedback is great! It's really special and fun to see people get surprised by their significant other. We see hugs and kisses and sometimes even a few tears. It really is a wonderful romantic gesture. The wall we use would otherwise be covered in tags, so it's great to contribute to our community's arts culture with something vibrant and meaningful. Local entrepreneurs have also used the mural as a way to promote their own businesses which fits our district's ethos better than other walls with corporate branding or advertisements.

Any advice for Main Streets looking to set up a similar promotion?

Do it! Find an artist you trust, find a theme that fits your community, and a landlord willing to donate a wall. Get a sketch or mock-up from the artist before you commit and make sure they can follow a deadline. During our first year doing this, we had creative conflicts with the original artist and had to find a replacement quickly! Make sure to set up an easy way for people to purchase a heart online and that can keep track of orders in a way the artist can interpret. Take lots of fun photos of the day. We like to have flowers and candy to give out as the Valentines show up for their surprise.

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