The Charleston area has always been characterized as a colorful place. Now, a few visionary community members have come together to kick that color up.
And by “up” that means splashed in saturated hues and dynamic graphics on the exterior walls of buildings around Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston, all by way of the new MELT Charleston Mural Fest.
The first of a planned annual event, MELT Charleston celebrates and promotes the tradition of muralists while highlighting the city’s vibrant heritage, including a Sept. 13, free-to-attend block party celebration.
From Sept. 11 through 14, seven artists will paint the walls of partnering businesses in the Reynolds Avenue area of North Charleston.
On Sept. 13, a block party will radiate from Rebel Taqueria, and includes activities, installations and fare from neighborhood restaurants, all of which will be emceed by the comedy due Nameless Numberhead. From this hub, guests can easily walk from one mural to the next.
The plan was hatched by three local creatives who worked together professionally: Christine Crawford of GWP Murals (aka Girls Who Paint Murals) her GWP co-founder Allison Dunavant and Connor Lock, founder of SEVEN Designs, a company specializing in large-scale murals, installation art, event design and brand identity.
When Crawford and Dunavant attended a similar mural festival in Georgia, they thought such an initiative would benefit Charleston. After hunting around for a good location, they landed on Reynolds Avenue, based on willing businesses providing space for a series of proximate murals that could together make an impact, as well as enthusiasm from the City of North Charleston Cultural Affairs Department.
A new view of muraling
“A lot of people perceive murals as graffiti,” said Crawford, whose mural work at GWP Murals is mainly for commercial clients.
The impulse with MELT was to add something new to the area beyond the established gallery art scene.
“We wanted to take that tradition and kind of turn it into a more modern tradition,” she said. That includes dispelling misperceptions, highlighting its ability to tell stories and also elicit smiles in the public sphere.
Working with the city of North Charleston’s Cultural Affairs Department, the festival selected seven artists. They were chosen from a pool of 150 applicants, who mainly found the MELT project through a social media call for applications, both from the Charleston vicinity but as far away as London and Australia.
The selected artists range in artistic styles, from portraiture to animal depictions to abstract works, as well as stomping grounds, from a local mural artist to another from Canada. While all artists were offered thematic suggestions that are connected with the Charleston area, they retained creative freedom.
All are being paid for their work, a priority of the organizers, who did so by wrangling financial and in-kind corporate sponsorships. Among them are Ryobi tool manufacturers, Sherwin-Williams paint store and United Rentals.
The power of public art
Along with elevating muraling, MELT Charleston seeks to highlight the agency of public art. According to its website, the festival views mural art as “a powerful and immediate way to share inspiration and vision, and to experience, promote and enrich a community in a way otherwise not possible.”
The guiding tenets surrounding MELT — people, story, space and vision — are envisioned as coming together in a way that elevates everyday lives.
“It’s definitely a passion project,” said Crawford, who sees it as a way to give back to the community, and to give anyone a chance to enjoy art, whether or not they can afford something in a gallery.
“They can just walk around and see all these beautiful murals,” she said.
IF YOU WANT TO GO: The public celebration for MELT Charleston Mural Fest 2025 takes place on Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with afterparty programming to follow, at Rebel Taqueria, 1809 Reynolds Ave., North Charleston. More:meltcharleston.com
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.