UrbanArt Commission to dedicate Gooch Park mural
Artist Jamond Bullock created the mural at Gooch Park, which will be unveiled Saturday, July 9, at 10 a.m. (Photo courtesy of Jo Ann Street)
The UrbanArt Commission will host its unveiling and pool mural dedication for Gooch Park Saturday, July 9, at 10 a.m.
The celebration will feature food prepared by Chef Rome of Ben Yay’s restaurant, music and activities for children. The centerpiece of the day will be the artwork by Jamond Bullock, a new addition to the park on the west side of University Street between Chelsea and Hunter avenues.
“This has been a labor of love. I cannot believe we’ve gone through the pandemic and gotten it done,” Jo Ann Street, founder of HUG Park Friends, said. The group supports Hollywood, University and Gooch parks in North Memphis. It sponsors the parks through Memphis City Beautiful’s Adopt A Park program, which includes beautification, litter control and running park watches.
Through the UrbanArt Commission’s Neighborhood Art Initiative, HUG Park Friends selected Bullock to create the mural. He was one of three finalists, and more than 320 people voted in the contest, according to Street.
Lumberman and philanthropist Cecil M. Gooch and his wife Boyce Alexander Gooch donated the park to the city of Memphis for African American residents. Gooch was known throughout the community for his philanthropy, specifically to the Black people of Hyde Park. He and his wife also granted scholarships to thousands of college students.
A 1958 Associated Press article reported that there were 200 Black attendees at the park’s dedication. The next year, the park hosted the city’s first Black bicycle rodeo.
Bullock incorporated images that reflect the park’s history and the pride of the Hyde Park community it serves.
One such image is of Marshall “Major” Taylor, a cyclist who broke the color barrier. Though Taylor is not from that community, Bullock used his image to represent Black cyclists who may not have gotten the recognition that he did, and a Black cycling club that met in the park. He also incorporates geese, which frequent the area.
“All our stories are on the wall, just staring at us,” Street said. “I think it’s already had an impact because people see themselves.”
Two birds in the mural carry sack lunches, a nod to the free food served at the park. Street remembers eating lunch in the park as a kid and set out to bring it back once she noticed many children in the area going hungry and stealing food.
Because Bullock’s proposal reflects the community, Street said, it was a positive that they chose someone familiar with the neighborhood like him.
Bullock, who owns the company Alive Paint, has done murals throughout the city, including in Frayser, the Memphis International Airport and Douglass Park. He is a graduate of LeMoyne-Owen College and a performance artist. Upon graduating, he began painting live, deriving the name Alive Paint from that experience. He uses vivid colors, primarily in acrylic paint to create works that the UrbanArt Commission described as “colorful, loose, and expressive.”
Topics
UrbanArt Commission Jamond Bullock Gooch Park North Memphis Hyde ParkDaja E. Henry
Daja E. Henry is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a graduate of Howard University and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and currently is a general assignment reporter.
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