Artists showcase graffitti murals

Media Credit: Kelly Wright/The Lantern Local artists work together to create large-scale murals at Urban Scrawl, a festival held Saturday at Dodge Park. This piece is one of 18 other murals.

Nestled along the Scioto River, Dodge Park in Franklinton was the host of Saturday's Urban Scrawl, a skateboarding competition and graffiti art event sponsored by the Franklinton Arts District and the Franklin Development Association.

The second annual Urban Scrawl turned an often unused park space into a forum of public art and music, with the Columbus city skyline serving as a backdrop for 50 graffiti-style murals.

Local artists and students from the Columbus College of Art and Design showcased their art on the free murals provided by the Franklinton Arts District. Although no OSU artists participated, members of the Franklinton Arts District hope to see some of them in the future.

"We even had some of the paint provided," said Nikos Rutkowski, president of the Franklinton Arts District and a local artist. "Artists brought supplemental stuff too."

Punchy black and white graphics were being carefully crafted alongside color murals by artists who worked alone and in groups on giant ply board surfaces, as sounds of local bands and the noise of skateboarding filled the air.

"We are trying to reframe the neighborhood as something positive," said Jim Sweeney, executive director of the Franklinton Development Association. "It depends on who you talk to, but we are starting to be seen as a cool, new artist's neighborhood."

Sweeney and Rutkowski are passionate about the Franklinton neighborhood and turning an area that was frequently referred to as "the bottoms" into a livable, workable neighborhood for artists. "We want to create another place for the arts to thrive," Sweeney said.

A multi-level skateboarding competition, live arts demonstrations, crafting tables and local bands brought a varied crowd to the west-side location.

Elizabeth Gurdemen, a graduate student at the College of the Arts at Ohio State, said events like Urban Scrawl are accomplishing Sweeney and Rutkowski's goals. "It's raising awareness about arts in the area," Gurdemen said, "Especially performing art, such as graffiti."

"We had a hell of a turnout," Rutkowski said, but no estimate of attendees was released.

Media Credit: Kelly Wright/The Lantern Local artists Nikos Fyodar and Derek Stewart work side-by-side to create an original painting at Urban Scrawl 2008. All the pieces were created in less than eight hours.

Catrina Otonoga can be reached at otonoga.1@osu.edu.