Victoria Plans Mural for Laurent Street Underpass

The City of Victoria is thinking big with its next beautification project.

The City is moving forward with a mural project through Environmental Services’ Community Appearance Division that will decorate the Laurent Street underpass with colorful imagery that celebrates Victoria’s heritage.

The mural is one of the milestone projects that will align with Victoria’s bicentennial celebration in 2024. The bicentennial will be a yearlong celebration featuring events, activities and initiatives that will honor Victoria’s past and set the stage for a bright future.

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“The Laurent Street underpass is an excellent opportunity for public art in terms of the location and the amount of space, which we intend to fully utilize in the design,” said Christy Youker, assistant director of Environmental Services and executive director of Keep Victoria Beautiful.

The City is partnering with UP Art Studio on the mural. UP Art Studio’s mission is “Civic Pride through Civic Art,” and the studio has managed hundreds of public art projects around the United States. The studio will work with its lead artist, Robin Munro, to implement the project and will include local Victoria mural artists who wish to participate.

UP Art Studio has provided two proposed designs for each side of the underpass. The high-quality paint will last more than 20 years. The designs were created with avoiding flood damage in mind; therefore, more complex imagery will be placed near the top of the mural.

“Each wall has a narrative that shares a story and history of Victoria with vibrant color ways and exuberant imagery, capturing the traditions of the past with a bright and colorful present-day design concept and application,” UP Art Studio stated in the design proposal.

The city will approve a final design by the end of April and is seeking citizen feedback on design options. Residents can review and provide feedback on the proposed design options at www.victoriatx.gov/communityappearance. The deadline to provide feedback is April 21.