Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local Newscast
Hear the latest from the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom.

Local artists unveil giant murals in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl

Ahead of the Super Bowl, New Orleans artist Annie Moran painted a mural on Girod Street, titled "The Welcoming Committee." Moran says she'll continue to add to mural after the game.
Matt Bloom
/
WWNO
Ahead of the Super Bowl, New Orleans artist Annie Moran painted a mural on Girod Street, titled "The Welcoming Committee." Moran says she'll continue to add to the mural after the game.

Buildings in New Orleans’ Central Business District are a lot more colorful than they were just a few months ago.

Dozens of murals have popped up in the area ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Most were designed and painted by local artists, including Brandan "BMIKE" Odums, Carl Joe Williams and Patrick Henry.

Painter Annie Moran recently finished the first phase of her 120-foot-long mural titled “The Welcoming Committee.” A team of seven painters helped her complete Phase 1 of the two-phase project ahead of the game.

It’s located on the site of a parking garage on Girod Street. Morning Edition Producer Matt Bloom met up with Moran in front of her larger-than-life work of art.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Matt Bloom: I’m standing on the sidewalk near the iconic Superdome and Smoothie King Center in downtown New Orleans. It’s pretty busy with traffic and pedestrians. But one thing that jumps out is a vibrant, colorful new mural on the side of a big parking garage.

Streets around the Caesar’s Superdome and other parts of the Central Business District will be closed in phases ahead of Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 9.

It’s the work of local artist Annie Moran, who is here with me to talk about her project.

Hi Annie.

Annie Moran: Hi Matt. Excited to be here.

Bloom: The first thing I noticed about your mural is just how massive it is. How tall exactly is it?

Moran: Oh, that's such a great question. I don't think I ever figured that out (laughter). I know that the wall for the full design is 120 feet long. I think it's maybe 50 to 60 feet tall.

Bloom: I see a chef with his classic white chef hat. I see some dancers and at the very top, is that a Mardi Gras Indian? Can you tell us a little bit more about the top of the mural?

Moran: With pleasure. So, that is Queen Elenora Rukiya Brown. She is my friend and muse. This is the third time I've painted her and she is a Black Masking Indian Queen. She beads beautiful suits every year for Mardi Gras and quite an artist in her own right. And I chose her to be our matriarch, welcoming everyone with open arms, spread wide open.

Bloom: Let's talk about the title and the intent behind the mural. “Welcoming” is in the title. Can you talk a little bit more about that and its purpose?

Moran: This mural was commissioned by the Arts Council and funded by the Helis Foundation. And when they invited me to propose the mural, there was a directive that they wanted something that represented us well as a city in terms of our culture and also would be welcoming to visitors to the area, primarily for this Super Bowl event. But also as a legacy going forward. And I really think that that's just something that we do so well in New Orleans is welcoming people. Hospitality is just a cornerstone of our culture, and it's not just, you know, the hotels and the food and all of that.

The arts are also a huge part of our hospitality, and I think that's why so many people come here. You know, they get here and they're like, I could see myself living here. You know, it's very welcoming.

Bloom: What has the Super Bowl meant to local artists?

Moran: Yeah, the Super Bowl has had a big impact on artists, and I think it's been different this time around than prior Super Bowls in terms of having a larger impact on artists. The city has done an amazing job. The Arts Council of New Orleans has done a really great job of harnessing the momentum, the excitement into funding and production of public art projects that are going to leave a legacy here that will remain here after the Super Bowl. So it's not only like the financial impact that it's had on artists, but it's also doing a lot for artists in terms of publicity and it's doing a lot for the public in terms of bringing art to the city.

Bloom: Where does that fit into your career and your experience as an artist in the city?

Moran: Yeah, I mean, this is The highest profile project that I've ever had. So that is definitely very meaningful to me. And career wise, I really hadn't seen myself as an exterior muralist. I've done many interior murals, and that's more of my specialty. But when I was asked to submit a proposal for this, it's like I just knew that this was an opportunity I could not say no to. I had to at least try.

Bloom: Thank you so much for chatting with me, Annie.

Moran: Thank you so much, Matt. This has been great.

Now, after more than a decade of uncertainty and stagnation, new sources of funding have neighbors and developers feeling cautiously optimistic.

Matt hails from the Midwest. Despite living in California and Colorado for the past 7 years, he still says “ope” when surprised. He earned his Bachelor’s of Arts in Journalism from Indiana University. He reports breaking news, human interest feature stories and deeply-reported enterprise pieces.