SEARCY, Ark. — The City of Searcy is known for its murals that are painted downtown and a few weeks ago a new one was added to the family.
"This mural behind us is our most recent addition to our downtown art scene. This is in honor of the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8th," said Amy Burton, Executive Director of Main Street Searcy.
Burton said that the murals have a way of bringing the community together.
"We wanted to do something unique that would draw people into the community. We are going to see an influx of visitors as we are in the path of totality, so we wanted to give something not just beautiful, but [also] interesting," she explained.
Several of the murals in downtown Searcy are funded by grants and private donations, but the newest one was funded by the Searcy A&P Commission in conjunction with the eclipse committee.
The eclipse mural was created by artist Jason White to better the downtown area in Searcy.
"It goes hand in hand, not just with quality of life, but it also serves as an economic development because we all want to visit businesses where we can go and sit on a park bench and have a cup of coffee and enjoy a piece of public art," Burton added.
White has been painting murals across the state of Arkansas for nearly 10 years.
"It takes blighted areas of a community and just really brightens it up and brings a new life to the area," said White. "I've never dreamed that I could actually be an artist, not a starving artist, but you know, an artist that's actually changing lives and changing communities."
His work can be found on the side of the White County Title building in Searcy where there are also a few kid favorites.
"We have a young astronaut here dressed up and holding a little rocket and obviously the commemorative eclipse that we got going on. But it's just basically [saying] shoot for the moon and dream big," he described.
White said the City of Searcy has been supportive throughout the process of painting the mural and his work has opened the doors for other youth and young artists to be inspired to make a difference in their communities.
"We've been able to get youth groups, school groups, high school art classes involved, and just other local artists that didn't know where to go or what to do," he said. "The art program here in Searcy has given them an opportunity to get their name out there get practice and actually start working and then generating revenue. So it's benefited the community, the artists, and just everyone involved."