Artist irked by Pullman mural restart

Feb. 27—One of the artists who submitted ideas for the proposed End Racism Now mural in Pullman expressed frustration with the city government after it decided to restart the mural selection process.

"That shows the extreme disrespect to the artists involved in this project," Jiemei Lin said Friday.

Lin, who contributed to murals at Kamiak Elementary and Jefferson Elementary, was one of three artists to submit ideas to the Pullman Arts Commission for a mural to be painted on the retaining wall along Spring Street between Main and Paradise streets.

She submitted three ideas. One of them, a rainbow-colored mural with the words "End Racism Now" and "Black Lives Matter," was even recommended as the preferred design if the Pullman City Council chose to move forward.

Instead, the City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to create a subcommittee to begin the process again and "clarify the objectives for a mural that promotes harmony, unity and awareness of racial inequality in the community."

Councilors Dan Records and Brandon Chapman cast votes against restarting the process, and both said they supported going forward with Lin's mural.

Councilors Pat Wright and Eileen Macoll both said complications arose because the City Council and Pullman Arts Commission did not follow specific city procedures for public art.

The project started after residents who support the Black Lives Matter movement attended a July 14 City Council meeting and proposed the idea for a mural. The issue was referred to the Pullman Arts Commission.

Wright said normally the Pullman Arts Commission brings a project idea to the council to get recommendations and a criteria before receiving approval on the project.

Macoll, who did not attend that July 14 meeting because she was sick, said the city did not follow the city's "Art in Public Places Policy," which can be found on the Arts Commission website.

"I think the project was launched before anybody did their homework," she said.

Wright added that there was confusion in how the mural would be selected. The Pullman Arts Commission invited public feedback to be submitted on Facebook, to the Arts Commission email or to its physical mail address. It was unclear, though, how votes were tallied and whether Facebook likes or comments counted as votes, Wright said.

Lin said there is another issue. She said it was unclear if the city would accept a mural with the words "Black Lives Matter."

During the July 14 meeting, the Black Lives Matter members made it clear their support is not for the Black Lives Matter organization, but for Black Lives Matter as a civil rights movement, according to a Daily News report.

"We're not saying other lives don't matter," Pullman resident Jason Kennedy said during the meeting. "We're saying Black lives matter right now, because that's where the spotlight needs to be."

Lin said she chose to keep the words because she believes the message on the mural should be direct. In fact, she withdrew one of her ideas because it did not contain that message.

Lin said she was angry, sad and disturbed by the death of George Floyd, which sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter movements across the country.

She said many people in Pullman believe the community needs to recognize the suffering of Black people. She said public art can be very influential.

"Art is something to make people think, and when they start thinking they change," she said.

Lin has been a professional artist for more than 10 years and was one of the artists who contributed to a large Black Lives Matter mural in Spokane. She said the Pullman mural is a social justice project that does not have full support from the government.

Three members of the Pullman Arts Commission resigned last week. One of them, Katie Bunch Emerson, told the Spokesman-Review in a Wednesday story that some council members did not respect the Arts Commission's input. She accused the council of stalling the project to avoid a vote on Black Lives Matter.

Wright recalled Kennedy's comments during the July 14 when he said "Black lives matter now." She said the mural should have a message that transcends a time frame.

"If we want it to be something permanent, you want it to have a message that is current all the time," she said.

As the subcommittee moves forward, Wright says she wishes to see something that will send a message of unity rather than division.

Lin said that after all of this, she is tired and does not know if it is worth the effort to submit another mural idea.

"It's exhausting," she said.

Councilor Al Sorensen, reached Friday, declined to comment on this story.

Anthony Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.