HAPA Seeks Artist for Southern Miss Mural

HATTIESBURG, MS (Sept. 13, 2022) – The Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art is pleased to announce a call for artists to design and execute an exterior mural to design and execute an exterior mural at Eagle Walk on The University of Southern Mississippi’s main campus in Hattiesburg. Artists with professional experience in public art or painting are invited to respond to the call.

Located on the northeast corner of M.M. Roberts Stadium, the highly visible mural should reflect the values of the University and be and be appropriate for college students and the community at-large. Design proposals should be engaging and colorful, with a heavy focus on the school’s black and gold color scheme, while honoring Southern Miss’ athletic traditions.

“Hattiesburg’s public art footprint continues to grow, in part, because of steady community support,” Kristen Brock, programs director, said. “The University already has a few pieces of public art on campus, and we are looking forward to adding another, tying campus again to the HBURG Public Art Trail.”

The Eagle Walk mural project is being partially funded by Southern Miss Sports Properties / LEARFIELD and the Southern Miss Alumni Association. With approximately a half a dozen other projects in the works, public art offerings continue to beautify the city’s neighborhoods and corridors with growing community support.

The concrete canvas space measures approximately 10 feet high by 30 feet wide. The selected artist will be notified the week of Sept. 28, and the mural must be complete by Friday, Oct. 14, in time for Southern Miss’ 2022 homecoming football game.

“This project has been in the works behind the scenes for a while now, and we are excited to see it come to fruition just in time for Southern Miss’ homecoming celebrations,” Brock said.

Professional local, regional, and national artists are encouraged to submit their original designs. Preference will be given to artists who are Southern Miss students or alumni. Submitted designs must be reviewed and endorsed by USM administration and the Southern Miss athletic department, in addition to HAPA and other project partners.

For more details and instructions, interested artists may visit hburgart.com/artists. Applications must be electronically submitted by noon on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. The final design selection will be based on artistic merit, creativity, demonstrated ability, technical knowledge, overall budget, the artist’s interpretation of the theme, and University connection.

To learn more about HAPA or for a map of existing public art in Hattiesburg, visit HAPA’s Facebook and Instagram pages or hburgart.com.