A downtown carry-out restaurant building has a new look thanks to a mural painted by 10 students in this year’s summer art camp organized by the Pennyroyal Arts Council.
The camp theme, “Soul Food,” resulted in a mural measuring 9.5 by 6 feet on the Fifth Street wall of WB Express.
Mackenzie Russell, of Mackenzie R. Creative, was the resident instructor for the camp. Her mural design was “heavily inspired by the distinct cubist style of Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece, ‘Three Musicians,’” the arts council described in a press release.
The “Soul Food” mural features two musicians, one playing a saxophone and the other with a violin. There are also nods to Christian County agriculture, including wheat stalks.
“The striking visual work was designed to celebrate the beautiful, historic intersection of Christian County’s agricultural roots and its rich cultural history,” the release states.
The mural was unveiled Friday.
WB Express, a Black-owned business, opened in the fall of 2022. It is named for the Wealth Builders classes taught by Eric Coleman at Planters Bank. The owners went through the financial literacy program.
The campers also added their “collective artistic flair” to a creation for The Chair Project, which had its silent auction benefitting Sanctuary Inc. Friday evening at Hopkinsville Brewing Co. across Main Street from WB Express. Their chair was one of the old auditorium chairs from the Alhambra Theatre, which the arts council manages.
In addition to the mural, the campers also painted two smaller pieces that will be displayed in front of the Alhambra Theatre. These pieces recognize local culture and storytelling.
One is a portrait of author bell hooks with a quote from the Hopkinsville native: “I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.”
The other piece is a nature collage with the sun, plants, a buffalo and musical notes.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
