By Ashley de Sampaio Ferraz
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
A local artist has added to Towson’s small but growing collection of public art by painting a new mural uptown.
The mural, which depicts four koi fish swimming through a painted blue stream, is in support of a 10-year-old boy battling leukemia. It is located on the front of Kerb, a small restaurant on East Chesapeake Avenue.
The mural’s depiction of koi is based on the Japanese carp streamers that residents of Knollwood hung up outside of their houses in spring to show solidarity with Andrew Mercier, who was diagnosed with leukemia in April.
Residents used the carp streamers, called koinobori, as a symbol of support for Andrew because his diagnosis came within days of Japanese Children’s Day, which occurs annually on May 5. It is traditional for Japanese families to fly kionobori on this day as a symbol of courage and strength.
Theresa Foggo, the artist of the mural, reached out to the Towson Creative Partnership (TCP), the group responsible for the creation of the mural, when she heard about the project.
“When I found out what they were all about, it was something I really wanted to be a part of, being a local artist and working and living in the area for so long,” Foggo said. “I just thought it was a great initiative.”
Foggo is a freelance muralist, and this project is on a smaller scale compared to others she has done. She spent the first week of October working on the mural, and completed it on Oct. 6.
Foggo said there are four koi, three on the front swimming into the current and one around the corner of the building leaping out of the water. She said the fish represent resilience.
“They’re said to swim upstream, against the current, and the strongest and bravest of those fish are said to actually leap out of the water and up waterfalls, which is what the fourth fish represents,” Foggo said. “The little boy Andrew chose the colors for that fish, so that’s sort of his special fish to symbolize his own strength and resilience and his fight right now.”
An anonymous donor from the immigrant entrepreneur community funded the mural. Masoud Athari, the owner of Kerb, said he was happy to donate a place for the mural to be created.
“Andrew is suffering, we don’t know what will happen to him today or the next day, but at least his message will stay on this wall,” Athari said. “Art is kind of promising. The flowers, in springtime, flower, but once the fall comes, we don’t have it. But the art is always going to keep its color, its own meaning, and its own gesture on the wall.”
The koi mural is the second mural that has been created in the Towson Area.
The TCP also helped create the “Welcome to Towson” mural on the side of the Wells Fargo Bank at Pennsylvania Avenue this summer.
David Riley, chairman of the TCP, said public art is an important feature for all communities.
“It is an essential for the long-term development of any community, particularly in an area of increasing urbanization,” Riley said. “The population in downtown Towson and the surrounding communities is getting much younger and much more diverse, and I think this is something that we’re going to want.”
Riley isn’t the only one who wants to work on making public art in Towson widespread.
Deirdre Aikin, the owner of Triple Crown Tattoo on York Road, which is Towson’s first tattoo studio and art gallery, said public art will have a big impact on Towson’s community.
“There’s so much space here for public art,” Aikin said. “Huge walls, huge blank canvases everywhere. I think that, for Towson itself, the area, people want to live where there’s art. People will stay in a community that’s a little funky and has art. So, making it a warmer, more exciting, more vibrant community will just make this whole area better, for everyone.”
She also believes that public art affects the society around it.
“People are going to want to be part of, and be around, beautiful spaces,” Aikin said. “I’m pretty aware on how a public space can be completely changed, change the whole vibe of it, just by doing something beautiful. There’s a new face that’s going to be here, and when Towson changes, let that new face be beautiful.”
Riley said that the Towson Creative Partnership hopes to continue to encourage the creation of public art in Towson. Some ideas he has for future murals are a mural focused on the environment and a mural that explores the indigenous people of Baltimore County.
“We’re just starting,” he said. “I think we’ve really resonated with the population with the koi fish… and I think that will jump start what we’re doing. This is a new element. It’s going to take some time to have us really become part of the culture, but I think all the positive elements are there and it’s just a question of getting the word out and getting a few more victories under our belt.”