Mural Gallery

Listening Back, Dreaming Forward: The Rhythms of Tonkawa

Located at the corner of Main & Grand

Tonkawa, Oklahoma

Lead artist - Dave Loewenstein

Assisted by Amber Hansen and Nicholas Ward

With the support of over one hundred community volunteers

Employing an intensive community-based process, local volunteers teamed up with the visiting artists to research, design, and help paint this sprawling visual poem honoring Tonkawa’s cultural history and dreams of things to come. The resulting mural, divided into five interrelated panels, reflects the community’s continuing dialogue with its past including: the Cherokee Land Run and its effects on the Tonkawa Tribe, current efforts to revitalize downtown, and whimsical visions of future community-building endeavors.

© D. Loewenstein 2010

The Imagineers

Located on the north-facing wall of 304 North Main

Newton, Kansas

Lead artist - Dave Loewenstein

Assisted by Matthew Farley and Erika Nelson

With the support of over two hundred community volunteers

Situated adjacent to Newton’s historic train depot, The Imagineers was designed and painted by a group of committed local volunteers working in collaboration with the visiting artists. The mural’s focus is a group of Newton area residents, gathered around a table, engaged in the process of recalling and re-imagining their community. Using quilts, model railroads, and board games as metaphors to explore their cultural history and manifest new ideas, the figures at the table are surrounded by symbols of Newton and North Newton including references to: Mennonite and Hispanic heritage, wheat farming, and the Chisholm Trail.

© D. Loewenstein 2010

The Butterfly Effect: Dreams Take Flight

Located at the northwest corner of 15^th & Main

Joplin, Missouri

Lead Artist – Dave Loewenstein

Assisted by Amber Hansen and Kyle McKenzie

With the support of more than three hundred community volunteers

Two months after an EF-5 tornado devastated nearly one third of the city, Joplin residents came together to create this magical evocation of a community rebuilding, remembering, and looking forward. Inspired by the metamorphosis of butterflies, the poetry of Langston Hughes, and the capacity for renewal expressed in the imaginations of children, the mural captures the story of Joplin’s unbroken spirit and hopeful outlook after the storm.

© D. Loewenstein 2011

From a Dream to The Promise

Located outside the Honeycomb Restaurant at 705 Main Street

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Lead Artist – Dave Loewenstein

Mural Assistant – Ashley Jane Laird

Mural Apprentice – Jordan Karpe

With the support of more than two hundred community volunteers

Known to many as the ‘Athens of Arkansas,’ Arkadelphia’s passionate and enduring support of education is the focus of this mural. Underneath a decorative archway of soaring pine trees, a young student holding a symbolic pine tree sapling considers his future and potential. His journey unfolds amidst references to Arkadelphia’s cultural history including Peake School, the Arkadelphia Promise, and the Hunter - Dunbar Expedition. All of these are centered around the majestic figure of a woman, symbolizing education and mentorship, who lights the way to the young man’s future.

© D. Loewenstein  2012

Storytellers: Sharing the Legacy

Located on the outside of the East Branch Public

Library at 901 Elm Avenue in Waco, Texas

Lead artist – Dave Loewenstein

Mural Assistant – Ashley Jane Laird

Mural Apprentice – Catherine Hart

With the generous support of more than two hundred community volunteers

Situated along Elm Avenue in historic East Waco, the library’s mural honors the legacy of this vibrant community. The mural design, built in three parts, begins with a series of panels along the bottom where Elm Ave., Paul Quinn College, the Alpha Theater, Kermit Oliver, Doris Miller and Juneteenth are remembered. Above, a series of symbolic pictograms refer to East Waco’s cultural, geographic and economic life, while the top of the mural takes inspiration from the tradition of hand-painted signs popular here.

© D. Loewenstein  2013

Working Together Toward a People’s Art

Located at the intersection of Eastside Boulevard

and 4^th Street in Hastings, Nebraska

lead artist – Dave Loewenstein

assistant – Amber Hansen

apprentice – Rebecca Harrison

project coordinator – Kaleena Fong

With guidance and generous assistance from over three hundred Hastings residents, especially Dave Stewart.

Painted alongside the Pioneer Spirit Hike & Bike Trail, this 210’ foot long mural explores the community process that takes place behind the scenes before painting begins. Each vignette highlights a different part of the process from initial research to drawing to projecting the design, and features many of the Hastings’ design team members. Special details include local artist Dave Stewart holding up the mural’s magic mirror, prehistoric fish from the Hastings Museum and a colorful evocation of the Fisher Rainbow Fountain.

© D. Loewenstein  2013