The once heavily-populated area of Old South Baton Rouge, full of businesses and middle-class citizens, is now a graveyard of abandoned homes and companies. Instead of leaving these buildings to weather and decay, the Museum of Public Art has found a new purpose for them — turning them into murals.
The Museum of Public Art started the Mural House Project in March 2013 to celebrate the Old South Baton Rouge community’s history through art. In hopes to paint more homes faster, the Museum of Public Art has created a Kickstarter to accumulate more funding. The program brings in artists from all over the world and aims to pair them with groups of youth to create works of art using aerosol paints.
As a non-profit organization, the Museum of Public Art works to create art that positively contributes to the Baton Rouge community. 
Kevin Harris, the Museum of Public Art’s director, oversees the projects taken on by the museum. He said the program is a symbiotic relationship for the artists and the Old South Baton Rouge community. The artists live there during the mural process and absorb Baton Rouge culture as they put color back into the city’s homes and people. 
The Mural House Project is funded by Harris and small donations. The Kickstarter is in place to purchase more supplies and bring in new artists for the next round of house murals. Whether the project receives the money or not, Harris said it will not cease completely. 
So far, seven houses have been muralized by the project. Four of the homes are located on the corner of Terrace Avenue and Saint Joseph Street across from the East Baton Rouge Parish Library with the depiction of the African-American fight for freedom in the United States. 
Each house transitions to a different time period in black culture. There are images of plantations, historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and a reference to the Baton Rouge bus boycott that took place in 1953. 
A collaborative effort between the artists and the resident or owner of the house is used in determining what will be painted on the homes. As many faces as possible cover the homes, including the front porches and rooftops. 
Harris calls the venture an experience that cannot be purchased. Comparing the Mural House Project to a wedding, he is fully aware of the money that goes into creating the art, but the reward is in the memory captured in the pictures. There is a belief that these experiences are more valuable than possessions for not only those involved but also possibly the city as a whole.
“If you have excess money, you can buy a larger car or a larger house,” Harris said. “Art may not be as tangible, but it has a greater reward.”  
The end goal of the Mural House Project is to show that there is still life in the Old South Baton Rouge community through the art. More houses will be painted as the program grows and receives backing from Baton Rouge residents and businesses.
Harris believes Baton Rouge’s art community is on its way to proving how useful it can be to the city. By creating non-conventional art environments, more people will begin to tour the city for more than its food and football prowess. 
With other artistic projects going on in the city, the Mural House Project would like to boost the Baton Rouge economy. If not the economy, then at least its residents’ spirits. 
“It’s about the community and the art coming together to create new life,” Harris said. “It’s a tall order but this city needs that hope.” 
You can reach Joshua Jackson on Twitter @Joshua_Jackson_.

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Raegan Labat