Organization, Artist Hopes New West End Mural Inspires Community
Published on February 21, 2025
A photo of the mural on Beatties Ford Road.
When you drive down Beatties Ford Road, your eyes can’t help but be drawn to the brightly colored, striking mural on the side of JJ’s Hair Design salon. While the colorful oranges and blues might draw you in first, it’s the three artistic representations of well-known North Carolina natives that keep your attention. Executive Director of the Historic West End Partners (HWEP) J’Tanya Adams said that was all by design.
“HWEP is honored to be a facilitator for people gathering in the community,” Adams said. “We help create that by creating authentic bodies of work for all to enjoy.”
Adams explained the City of Charlotte’s Urban Design Center funded the mural using a grant from the Knight Foundation. Before they could put the money to work, the Partners needed a theme. To get the community involved, HWEP sent out a survey asking what its neighbors wanted to see painted. People chose music.
With the theme in mind, Adams and her team chose homegrown successes. The mural showcases gospel singer John P. Kee, singer and actress Fantasia, and singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton. Kee, born in Durham, got inducted into the Gospel and Christian Music Hall of Fames for his gospel music. Fantasia, born in High Point, turned her run on American Idol into an award-winning singing and acting career. Hamilton, born right here in Charlotte, sailed the charts and became a Grammy-award winning singer.
"John P. Kee has been a part of our community for many years before becoming a recording artist,” Adams noted. “He has become very vital to helping people around North Carolina. Anthony Hamilton grew up here. He sang at my Presbyterian church. As for Fanstasia, we appreciate her for choosing Charlotte as her home. We are inspired by her, and we love that she is such a role model for young women.”
Adams said it’s not just who these musicians are, but what they represent. While each person started in North Carolina, they now have national and even international platforms. Adams said they demonstrate how success can come from anywhere and that it’s within reach for all of us.
"All of them are modeling excellence before us,” she expressed. “Not just for their gifts but also for being the living epistles. There are different avenues to success no matter where you’re from and each person on the mural supports that.”
That’s why it was so important for artist Abel Jackson to capture them perfectly.
“If people were going to see themselves in the people on this mural, I wanted to show each person doing what they did best,” Jackson said.
Jackson spent days looking through hundreds of pictures of Kee, Fantasia, and Hamilton. He wanted his mural to show them in action, as if they’d jump off the wall and start singing right there in the gravel parking lot. Then, the work on the mural began. After a two-week prep process for the wall, it was finally time for the painting to come alive.
“It took three weeks to finish, which was a very cold three weeks,” he recalled. “I made the best of the situation because the whole time I was thinking about what the impact could be once people saw the finished work.”
The impact was almost immediate. Before the muralist was finished, people were turning into the parking lot to see the painting. Photos spread across social media quickly, which reached the featured musicians themselves.
“There were just so many responses from people,” Jackson said. “Everyone loved it including the three individuals. They posted it on their stories and commented how awesome it looked.”
Jackson said the fanfare over the mural made him feel proud. The more people saw it, the more widespread his and HWEP’s message could be.
“One of the things I offer as an artist to fulfill my purpose and fulfill my role in this world is helping people see a message through art,” he said. “I just wanted people to see the success of the people in the picture, and then see that same success within themselves.”
"Not only is art universal to all cultures and people, it is an awesome storytelling tool,” Adams said. “A picture is worth more than a thousand words."
Visit 1009 Beatties Ford Road to see the mural in person.
Interested in bringing a similar project to life in your neighborhood? Apply for a Placemaking Grant or a spot in the Placemaking Creative Pool today! What is Placemaking? It is a word for prioritizing the experience people have as they spend time in public places. Learn more about placemaking in our Placemaking Hub.