Artwork is commanding attention this summer as the Short North Arts District is in the process of installing three new mural projects.

The projects include several permanent, large-scale murals as well as the sixth rendition of the Short North Alliance's temporary mural series.

"We're excited that muralism is such a

strong component of public artworks being added to the District in 2019," said Betsy Pandora, executive director of the Short North Alliance.

The displays, in a variety of locations throughout the Short North, are bound to garner attention and spark conversation.

Here, we highlight the three projects:

‘Journey’

Spending 12 to 16 hours a day painting murals on an 11-story building is not unusual for Los Angeles-based artists Ryan “Yanoe” Sarfati and Eric “Zoueh” Skotnes, who are working to create three permanent murals that reflect the culture and spirit of Columbus.

The project, titled “Journey,” will feature murals that include

hummingbirds, mythological figures and a

Somali woman, who is a depiction of Hodan Mohammed, leader of local Somali community organization Our Helpers and founder of the Columbus Somali Festival. (The mythological figures represent the prosperity of Columbus, the artists said, and the hummingbirds were an inspiration for Sarfati, who encountered a few while working on the job.)

“We saw a fact that said Columbus has the second-largest Somali population (in the U.S.), and we wanted to create something on the foundation of the journey it takes to end up here in Columbus,” Sarfati said.

The murals will be painted on the exterior walls of the Graduate Columbus hotel, 750 N. High St., as part of a partnership between the Short North Alliance, Graduate Columbus and

AJ Capital Partners.

Skotnes, 38, and Sarfati, 37, were chosen from a pool of 50 applicants through a national call for submissions issued in May by the Short North Alliance.

The artists, who both got their starts through graffiti art at age 11, have made names for themselves with their extensive work in film and television art. Skotnes has done work for TV productions such as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and Marvel’s “Runaways.” Sarfati has painted in more than 20 countries and worked with clients including Netflix, Nike, Apple and Facebook.

“It was a very competitive process, but we were impressed by the proposal from Eric and Ryan,” Pandora said.

Skotnes and Sarfati also are working on an app for the public to download to experience an augmented reality (a computer-

generated worldview of a concept or idea) of the different scenes of the murals in 3D. There is only one other known augmented-reality mural in the U.S., making this an atypical addition to the Arts District, according to the Short North Alliance.

“We wanted to do an AR wall mural for some time and threw around the idea a lot,” Skotnes said. “This project was asking for it.”

They expect the installation of the murals to be completed by the end of August.

“I hope when people see this, they get inspired from this to get innovative with more art,” Sarfati said.

‘CAAMP’

Another permanent mural, a gift to Columbus from local folk trio CAAMP — consisting of Taylor Meier, Evan Westfall and Matt Vinson — will be installed near the Buttles Avenue side of Bakersfield restaurant.

Sally Meier, a local muralist and mother of Taylor Meier, and Joe Kavalec, who studied art at Ohio University and plays keyboards for CAAMP, will paint the work, titled “Are You a Life Force?” based on stories told from the band’s new album, “By and By.”

The band wanted to do something special in

celebration of their new album.

“We were discussing options and heard about the mural project the Short North Alliance was doing, and we decided to commission the mural,” said Adam Sensenbrenner, CAAMP’s manager.

The artists were excited about the opportunity.

“This will be my first mural, so it is pretty cool that it will be around for people to see,” said Kavalec, 24, of Cleveland.

Sally Meier, 55, of Upper Arlington, described the opportunity as a “surreal.”

“It is amazing and super-exciting,” she said. “As a high-school student and college kid, I did murals for the Columbus Zoo and others, and now I’m painting in honor of my son’s band.”

‘Unconventional’

The Short North Alliance also helped local artists such as Beverly Whiteside have a bigger impact with their art with their new mural series, “Unconventional,” a community-curated celebration of the diversity in Columbus.

The initiative is a collaboration among Experience Columbus, galleries and local art groups in the Short North Arts District. Whiteside’s work, along with 10 other local artists’ pieces, will be turned into temporary murals around the Short North.

“Not all artists get a chance to do this,” Pandora said. “This gives artists a chance to see real, life-sized pieces of their art.”

Whiteside looked in

awe at her work displayed

as a mural at 761 N. High St. In May, the community

had the opportunity to select the 10 artworks they wanted to see installed as murals throughout the Short North.

“I was like, ‘What, they like my work?’” she said. “I’m still taking it all in seeing it in this kind of venue.”

A self-taught visual artist, Whiteside, 63, who lives near Berwick, started painting seriously five years ago and fell in love with the discipline and composition of learning how to paint. Through the Greater Columbus Arts Council, she received the Annie Fund Fellowship for $5,000 in 2002 and the Dresden, Germany, fellowship in 2003, when she lived in Germany for three months to study art and share her work.

Her work also was highlighted in the Ohio Governor’s Artist Spotlight Program in 2015.

Before this project, Whiteside didn’t know much about murals, but the experience has taught her the value of leaving her comfort zone to grow as an artist.

“If it means that much for you, create a space for it,” she said, “even if it makes you uncomfortable.”

tthomas@dispatch.com

@tanishajanae