As work on the Lenexa Community Center ramps up next month, the City of Lenexa is letting residents choose the mural that will grace it.
Until Jan. 7, residents can vote here on what will be the next mural to greet visitors at the renovated location.
The mural will greet visitors as they arrive
The project called for designs for a 900-square-foot mural that will wrap around the southwest corner of the building.
Two artists made the cut: IT-RA ICONS and Doodle Dood.
Both artists hail from the Kansas City area, which was important to the project, said Logan Wagler, director of parks and recreation.
“We’ve got great artists here in the Kansas City metro,” he said. “Why not tap into the local artists for this effort?
The first entrant: “Our Place in Time” by IT-RA ICONS
IT-RA ICONS is the collaborative name for Isaac Tapia and Rodrigo Alvarez.
They’ve made a name for themselves as muralists, creating pieces chosen for the new terminal Kansas City International airport and events like World AIDS Day.
For their submission, they said they wanted to capture the unique feeling of the area.
“[We hope] to provide a visual tribute to the unique story, history, and meaning of the place called Lenexa — one its community can take pride in where the past can be commemorated and new memories can be made,” they said in a statement to the City of Lenexa.
The second entrant: “Meet Me in Lenexa” by Doodle Dood
Also known as Evan Brown, Doodle Dood has had works featured on the Kansas City Parade of Hearts and Johnson County business Mother Clucker, which has a downtown Shawnee location.
For his piece, he wanted to create an “homage to the cultured past, thriving present, and bright future of Lenexa.”
Transitioning from dirt roads to railroad tracks to pavement, it touches on pieces of the city’s history, from the Shawnee tribe to the Old Town post office and Lenexa skyline.
“The viewer will also notice that the entire road depicted … spells out the word Lenexa in cursive to allow for the city’s name to be incorporated into the design without initiating a stark contrast between the written text and the flowing visual language of the rest of the mural,” he said in a statement to the City of Lenexa.
The vote will go on tour
While voting is available on the city of Lenexa’s website, Wagler said they will be taking it out on the road to make sure people can take in the pieces and voice their opinions.
It will be available to view at these dates and places:
- Nov. 8-26: Lenexa City Hall
- Nov. 28 – Dec. 17: Lenexa Community Center
- Dec. 19, 2023 – Jan. 7, 2024: Lenexa Rec Center
“We love this process of just allowing the public to kind of weigh in, to vote on their favorite, to give us the feedback,” Wagler said. “Because ultimately, they’re going to be the ones who are going to interact the most with this art going forward.
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