Cheers to 5 years – ARTPrenticeship 2023 Celebrates its 5th Anniversary

July 11, 2023 – ARTPrenticeship is celebrating its fifth year of community activating murals and is delighted to partner with Baylor University and TFNB Your Bank For Life.

ARTPrenticeship will collaborate with notable Hawaiian muralist Kamea Hadar to create two murals at Hotel Herringbone, a mixed-use retail and hospitality development in the heart of Downtown Waco at 319 S 4th St. during the program’s 5-year anniversary.

ARTPrenticeship launched in 2018 as an 8-week summer internship program providing creative high school students the opportunity to earn concept-to-completion mentored creative work experience, and working professional artist mentorship opportunities to support the next generation of creatives in Waco and McLennan County. During the 2020-2021 season, the program expanded to include studio art, digital media, and film opportunities.

Over the past five years, the program has completed 6 larger than life external murals and one internal mural in collaboration with local businesses and organizations, developed three documentaries, and hired over 70 talented high school students and 30 local artists.

“ARTPrenticeship has grown and responded to the changing times, and creative landscape of Waco,” said ARTPrenticeship’s Program Director Stefanie Wheat-Johnson. “It’s been a delight and privilege to empower young creatives from across McLennan County to make their mark and learn about their community. At this juncture, it is incredible to see the impact on our apprentices’ alumni and mentors who used these opportunities as a catalyst in their careers and personal development.”

This year’s mural program is led by local artists Bradley Settles, Naomi Canale, and Rianna Alvarado, and the film program is led by Dominic Villa and RJ Jones. ARTPrenticeship hired 13 students from China Spring High School, Rapoport High School and University High School.

ARTPrenticeship is excited to welcome celebrity artist Kamea Hadar to Waco and looks forward to the expertise he brings to this year’s program. Hadar is an internationally recognized Hawaiian artist who specializes in large-scale traditional portraiture style murals — often spanning building stories — capturing faces and flora native to Hawaii. He has worked with a wide range of hospitality brands, Lamborghini, COACH, Sony and more.Hotel Herringbone has already begun its transformation with its new, sleek paint job. The space located on Fourth and Jackson in Downtown Waco will house a mix of retail, dining and lodging accommodations.

The apprentices began painting on July 11 and Hadar will begin on July 17. Lucky Find Hospitality and RAD Lab are hosting a community event on July 21 at 6:30pm offering a sneak peek of the hotel’s early stages of construction while also celebrating their new mural designed by renowned muralist Kamea Hadar. ARTPrenticeship is coordinating a community paint day on July 22 from 8am-11am to encourage the community to “Make Their Mark” on a local artwork. Both events are free and open to the public and provide the opportunity to paint with the team.

The program will also host an exhibition featuring original works created by the apprentices throughout this year’s studio sessions in early August.

ARTPrenticeship 2023 is sponsored by RAD Lab Design, Lucky Find Hospitality, Creative Waco, Baylor University, TFNB Your Bank for Life, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The program’s previous murals include: Reaching Beyond (2022) at Triple Win Waco; If you feel up to it you should introduce yourself to a stranger today (2021) at the Dr Pepper Museum; Tree of Life (2021) at TFNB Your Bank For Life’s East Waco branch; A Message of Hope (2020) inside of The Cove; The Spirit of We (2019) at Brotherwell Brewing; The Color of Health (2019) Waco Family Medicine’s MLK Clinic; and 1000 Hopes for Waco (2018) alongside Putters.

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Contact:

Kennedy Sam

[email protected]

254-717-7040