Downtown Art Route Project
Mural Designs Selected for 5th Avenue & Maple Street Sidewalk Mural
Hendo Beeline, Bear Crossing and Hendo murals to connect Main Street and 7th Avenue Districts
September 23, 2021 – Three mural designs and two artists have been selected to install a sidewalk mural on 5th Avenue and Maple Street, building connections between the Main Street and 7th Avenue districts in Downtown Hendersonville.
The selected designs were “Bear Crossing” and “Hendo” by Diamond Cash and “Hendo Beeline” by Elizabeth and David Queen. "The combination of both of these local artists will really create a unique walking path that connects the Main Street and 7th Avenue business districts.” said Jamie Carpenter, downtown manager with the City of Hendersonville, “All of the designs speak to the special qualities we have in Hendersonville and bring together a message of community.”
Designs were selected through public voting online and at downtown events including the Hendersonville Farmers Market, LoveHendo Saturday, Rhythm & Brews, Community Fest at Sullivan Park, and in the lobby at Hendersonville City Hall. There was a total of 157 in person and 830 online votes that contributed to selecting the final design.
“Bear Crossing” will be installed from Grove Street to Pine Street. “We constantly see bears walking to and from around our area so I thought it would be perfect to include them walking on the sidewalk connecting towards downtown.” said Cash, the artist. “I will be using bright colors for our mountains and sunny background and a simple bear silhouette for the bears.”
“Hendo” will be installed from Pine to Maple Street, “If you are from around the area, instead of using the word Hendersonville all the time you may use the word ‘HENDO’" said Cash. “I thought of the word and being inclusive using sign language to spell out the word. I wanted to use bright colors behind each hand connecting the sidewalk all together.”
About Diamond Cash:
Born and raised in Henderson County, Diamond Cash had a fondness for the arts at a very young age. This passion continued throughout her school years and as a participant in her local Boys and Girls Club, where she learned about painting, drawing, photography and more. She was eventually inspired pursue it further as a career. Cash graduated from UNC-Greensboro with her Bachelors in Studio Arts and has since worked with K-5th graders and adults with disabilities. She has taken her knowledge and created her own "sip and paint" business to teach the art of painting and more to those of all ages and abilities.
“The Hendo Beeline” is a collaboration between local artists Elizabeth and David Queen and this community and will be on Maple Street from 5th Avenue to the Historic Depot. “This mural concept draws heavily on the project’s mission to weave the many threads of Hendersonville into its making.” said Elizabeth Queen, “It will be a honey-combed “yellow brick road,” through which pedestrians of all ages can hop, skip, meander through an illustrative border garden made up of native pollinators.” The pathway salutes our status as a Bee City USA and the recent For the Good of the Hive Mural downtown.
Fusing our past with our present, there are links to our master gardeners, quilt makers, gem mines and more. Most important, it celebrates the different stages of our lives and our community as it explores diversity and the importance of sustainable interactions between man, the community and nature…. especially pollinators. As part of the making of The Hendo Beeline, Queen has invited local artists from ages 3 to over 70 to contribute.
About Elizabeth and David Queen:
While she enjoys making art (not to mention beekeeping and organic gardening), Elizabeth Queen’s passion is collaborative public art that includes elements of community service. An example of her “choreography and direction” of this type of collective work is Project Origami- a collaboration lead by Elizabeth and International Artist Yuri Tsuzuki, and involved the Nippon Center Foundation, students from Christ Church Episcopal School and the SC Governors School and a broad swath of the Upstate SC community. “Collaborative public art is not only a way to give back to the places that influence who we are, but the ripple effect is unending. Imagine how excited someone will be to be able to “meet someone at the Beeline” and show a friend or passerby, “that’s me. I helped make this!” Inspiring, empowering, affirming for individuals young and old,” says Queen.
David Queen is a Scottish metal sculptor who began his engineering career working with metals in the energy industry. His contemporary sculpture draws on his knowledge of materials properties, world travels, life experience and his understanding of the influence of Man on Nature and vice versa. Most recently, David was featured in an international arts show sponsored by the Gallery @ Flatrock along with Jose Bayro C. and Robert T. Smith. David’s fusion of this experience with his love of history, poetry, and science, result in authentic observation about the state of the world today and where we might take it from here and is reflected in his sculptures.
Volunteer paint days will take place throughout the month of October. To sign up to volunteer, go to hendersonvillenc.gov/volunteer.
About the AARP Community Challenge Grant:
The Community Challenge funds innovative projects that inspire change in areas such as transportation, public spaces, housing, diversity and inclusion, civic engagement, coronavirus recovery and more.
To learn more about the work being funded by the AARP Community Challenge across the nation – including all 244 granted projects this year, visit aarp.org/CommunityChallenge. You can also view an interactive map of all Community Challenge projects and AARP’s livable communities work at aarp.org/livable.
About the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville:
The Friends of Downtown Hendersonville exist to identify, preserve and enhance the key factors that contribute to the authentic small town urban character of historic downtown Hendersonville. The Friends and City of Hendersonville have been building connections between the Main Street and 7th Avenue districts launched the Hendersonville Farmers Market in 2020 on Maple Street. At the end of 2021 and early 2022, the 7th Avenue Streetscape project will begin a $1.4 million investment into pedestrian and stormwater infrastructure and landscaping in the business district.
For more information, visit downtownhendersonville.org.