NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As we start to look toward warmer days, we at NewsChannel 5 have a place we'd love to see you stop by. In fact, it's even part of a popular tour in the city.
"My name is Mary Meeuwis. I'm the owner and operator of Nashville Mural Tours," Mary told a group on her tour. "I'm calling this a mural movement."
One thing is certain. With all the muralists hard at work adding to the city little pops of color, it is a good time for Mary to have her business.
"People used to ask me how many murals there are in Nashville, and I just can't keep count," she said. "It's just exploded."
It's a fun gig, and she gets to wear one of those Janet Jackson microphone things.
"I feel like Janet Jackson!" Mary laughed. "That's what I feel like!"
Now, there is a new stop on the tour. It's at Third Avenue N. and Bankers Alley in downtown Nashville, and it's a mural we know well at NewsChannel 5.
"This is a piece sponsored by NewsChannel 5," Mary told her tour group, approaching a mural of a moon overlooking a heart shape over a bench. "It's called Embrace. It's just something for the community to embrace each other and embrace yourself."
Last fall, we headed over to The Studio 208 to meet the artist taking on the mural project, Kimberly Clo. Kimberly's story is now part of Mary's tour.
"Kimberly Clo is a local artist from east Nashville," Mary told the tour group. "She started painting in the pandemic. She paints through sacred geometry. You'll notice overlapping shapes, the circle at the top. She collaborated with a local woodworker, Tony Pearson, to create a bench for people to come and sit on."
Ever since Mary, a former science teacher, decided to do these mural tours in 2017, she's found a joy in telling the stories behind a great mural. She's also found joy in telling the stories of great artists.
"I became the street art guru in Nashville!" Mary laughed. "I meet people all over the world and get to share the great city Nashville is."
The mural NewsChannel 5 commissioned is called Embrace, and you can find it in downtown Nashville at the cross of Bankers Alley and Third Avenue North.
We want to see your pictures, and you can share them with us on our website! All you have to do is take a pic there... and share it with us here, on the NewsChannel 5 Embrace page.
We hope to see your best pose on our little bench — or beside it — soon.
It's truly the small things that add up to a great day - and Warrick in Lebanon is having a big impact. His familiar face is becoming a staple in one part of the community and inspiring closer connection in the simplest way. Enjoy his warm personality! You may even feel inclined to wave to a stranger today, too.
-Rebecca Schleicher
