New Mural Coming to 8th and Congress

Remember the wall painting along the north side of 8th Street just west of Congress? It was covered up a few years ago, and now the new owner of the Hickory Street Bar and Grill, Colin McClelland, has decided that Austin needs something fresh, something singular, and something, for the moment at least, mysterious. McClelland promised that it will not become a billboard. "I want a mural that represents Austin," he said. An artist, Shawn Gillespie, will soon apply his paintbrush to that pea-green, stair-step wall and bring some privately sponsored art to a public space. Feel free to drop by watch or, to use Thoreau's words, "represent spectatordom" - a time-honored, summertime goof-off activity.

For those who might not have seen the old mural (on the left), it was painted in the early 1990s (that seems like a long time ago) by Doug Jaques, an ACC art instructor and practicing muralist, and twelve students from his art class. He allowed the students do most of the work since it was part of their grade, but managed the layout and occasionally completed some of the faces. Contacted by phone, he said all of the students were pretty good and at least one went on to become a practicing artist. The project took the entire semester. When told that the new owners planned to do something different, Jaques hesitated, then said, “Good. I think it should be something new.”