Artist Jiemei Lin beginning work on new mural downtown!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 9, 2020

Spokane Arts is excited to announce the installation of a new mural by artist Jiemei Lin as part of the Alleyways Mural project in downtown Spokane! The mural will be located on the 100 North block alley between Howard and Wall Streets in downtown Spokane. Pullman, Washington-based artist Jiemei Lin was selected following an open call for artists this spring by a selection panel consisting of Arts Commissioners, and community and project representatives.

The mural design, which features two panels each with a child swimming in a pool, is meant to celebrate our shared global connections. Even on opposite sides of the globe, kids can be enjoying the same activities at the same time. Community pools are often enjoyed during the day in the U.S. but open up for swimming in the evening in China. As Lin shared in her application, “Although people grow up in different ways among different scenery, cultures, and people, they also enjoy many of the same things such as swimming, ice-cream, fresh summer breath, cheesy pool music, friendship, family and love. People from opposite sides of the world may have many differences, but many similarities as well. We are all human after all.” 

Painters from Lilac City Painting have installed the base coats for the project on the wall, and Lin is beginning to paint the mural artwork this week. The mural, which will be completed later this month, will be the second mural to be installed in the alley. The Fortune Catz mural by Erin Johnston and Tim Lacey III was installed in 2019 and is located on the opposite end of the alley. As part of a larger alley-revitalization project done in partnership with the City of Spokane, Downtown Spokane Partnership, and the property owners along the alleyway, the block is also getting more lighting and planters, and in the future will serve as a space for pop-up community events. 

Lin, who works with both digital and traditional media including painting, ceramics, and embroidery, frequently takes on themes of individual and cultural identity in her work. She is committed to combating social injustice through her artwork, which often references her experiences as an Asian woman and an immigrant. After completing her undergraduate studies in Art and Design at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, Lin received her MFA from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio in 2013. Lin has extensive national and international visual arts experience, including locally participating in the SATURATE 2019 exhibit at the Chase Gallery in Spokane’s City Hall, and co-curating an exhibit this spring at the Terrain Gallery. Learn more about her and see her work on her website, www.jiemeilin.com.