At the heart of the McComb Arts & Entertainment District
The McComb Renaissance Project is a renovation of the Downtown McComb parking garage. But in reality, it is so much more. It is a community project spearheaded by Pike School of Art — Mississippi (PSA-MS) and McComb Main Street Association, two regional nonprofit organizations with the shared goal of making our community a better place to live and work while providing positive opportunities for our youth.
With support from artists Sara Doman and Calvin Phelps, local artist Donald Brown provided his aesthetic vision for the project, including input from representatives of the McComb Main Street Association. The project serves to bring attention to the heart of the newly formed McComb Arts & Entertainment District and the McComb Main Street area while adding major artistic expression to the area.
The project proceeds with the approval of the McComb City Board of Mayor and Selectmen, and with logistical support from the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. To add your support to this project, contact Pike School of Art — Mississippi at mail@psa-ms.org or 601.600.7599.
History
The idea for the McComb Renaissance Project was sparked by a social media post by Matt Doman of a highway mural project at Avenida Libertador & General Paz Bridge in Buenos Aires created by Argentinian artist Martin Ron. In early meetings regarding the McComb Renaissance Project, the team looked at work by artists Okuda San Miguel and Jeffrey Gibson. One prominent theme of the project is unity and harmony. Initially, a completely abstract design, community input guided the team to include text of prominent McComb residents with connections to the arts and entertainment in the design.
Process
While lead artist Donald Brown created an overall framework for the project, there were opportunities throughout the project to provide individual input into the design. There are distinct sites for artists to contribute their own original murals. In certain spaces, a ‘paint-by-number’ aspect of the process allowed for ‘nonartists’ to contribute to the project. Both PSA-MS and MMSA have used the project to involve the youth of the community.
Theme
The completed McComb Renaissance Project serves as a gestalt, an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts. Two main elements of the design — the rainbow and the kaleidoscope — are both perceived as a sum of parts. The rainbow represents the diversity of our community, while the kaleidoscope symbolizes the dazzling energy that our community embodies. In both instances, all pieces belong to a whole.
Color Palette
Color is important to the project, and much consideration has been taken in selecting a cohesive palette. A rainbow of six pure colors — Poppy Red, Sunburst Yellow, Canary Yellow, Apple Green, Denim Blue, and Raspberry — is the base for the whole project. From those six colors, twelve more colors are created by either adding pure white (tints) or pure black (shades). For example, the tint of red is pink and the shade is maroon. This limited palette is easy to follow and requires only six base colors plus white and black.
The more muted, cooler colors will be used for the two most public-facing parts of the project — Front Street and Railroad Boulevard — while more vibrant, warmer colors will be used on the State Street and Alley south of the garage.
McComb Renaissance Project Phase One
Front Street
The Front Street side of the garage is comprised of a grooved upper panel on a concrete joist resting on 12 pillars standing on a low pedestal wall. The grooved panel will be painted in shades of green, blue and raspberry, continuing a rainbow theme from State Street. The joist will be a solid blue color. Kaleidoscope designs will be drawn on the pillars to be ‘painted by number’ by community members with guidance from the lead artist and the project team. The lower pedestal wall will be a solid blue.
McComb Renaissance Project Phase Two
Railroad Boulevard
The Railroad Boulevard side of the garage is comprised of a grooved upper panel on a concrete joist resting on 10 pillars standing on a low pedestal wall. Just like the Front Street side, the grooved panel will be painted in shades of green, blue and raspberry continuing a rainbow theme from the Alley. The joist will be a solid blue color. Kaleidoscope designs will be drawn on the pillars to be ‘painted by number’ along with names of McComb native artists and musicians on three larger wall portions. There is no lower pedestal wall on this side of the garage.
McComb Renaissance Project Phase Three
State Street
The State Street side of the garage is comprised of a grooved upper panel on a concrete joist resting on 3 thin pillars standing on a staggered curved pedestal wall. The grooved panel will be painted in shades of yellow, orange and red continuing the rainbow theme from Railroad Boulevard. The joist will be a solid red color. There are 3 flat wall sections on which murals based on abstract aerial views of several McComb traffic intersections will be painted. This theme will extend slightly to the Front Street side of the garage where a stairway leads to the upper deck.
McComb Renaissance Project Phase Four
Alley
The Alley side of the garage is comprised of a grooved upper panel on a concrete joist resting on 4 pillars standing on staggered low pedestal walls. The grooved panel will be painted in shades of yellow, orange and red continuing the rainbow theme from Front Street. The joist will be a solid red color. There is an angled flat wall on which murals with a more ‘urban’ vibe will be painted. Proposals will be solicited and final approval of the design will be made by a jury committee. The lower pedestal wall will be a solid red.
Project Contacts
Calvin Phelps, Director
Pike School of Art — Mississippi
131 N Broadway
McComb, MS 39648
601.600.7599
cphelps@psa-ms.org
Shaun Thompson, Director
McComb Main Street Association
P. O. Box 1484
McComb, MS 39649
601.249.4555
Board@McCombMSMainStreet.org
City Contacts
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley
City of McComb
115 Third Street
McComb, MS 39648
601.684.4000
qlockley@mccomb-ms.gov
David Myers, City Administrator
City of McComb
115 Third Street
McComb, MS 39648
601.684.4000 x 232
dmyers@mccomb-ms.gov
