Artist paints interactive community mural in downtown Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The community coming together to make downtown Colorado Springs just a bit more beautiful.

A new community mural where anyone walking by can add their own touch to the city and their own message. Many passersby adding messages of encouragement and hope to the wall. The artist, Annie Hong, spoke with KRDO about how much this mural means to her:

"This piece is called from you to you and I asked members of the community to basically ask themselves what they need to hear from themselves. So if you kind of look it's filled with notes from people and what they needed to hear."

Annie Hong - Artist

Part of 2022's Art on the Streets, the new mural is along Pikes Peak Avenue and Tejon Street if you're interested in checking it out.

This year marks 23 years since Art on the Streets began. It includes four murals, seven sculptures, and one combination mural/performance piece. Hundreds of artists applied for a spot in the exhibit, with organizers choosing 12 pieces from a total of 168 submitted proposals.

Hong submitted the following statement about her work: "Annie Hong (a.k.a. Hootnannie) is a visual and graphic artist whose bold and colorful work has been featured throughout the United States and South Korea. Vibrant eye-catching patterns and whimsical wordplay instantly capture viewers’ attention, hypnotizing them in a maze of colors. Often challenging contemporary art narratives and voicing underrepresented perspectives, Hootnannie’s work is inspired by their experience navigating the world as a queer, gender-nonconforming, first-generation Asian-American artist. This mural is a colorful and vibrant remembrance, honoring dreams undreamt and tears uncried in lives lost to senseless tragedies."

To learn more about the exhibit, click here.