Painted fences unite community in Austin neighborhood

109306Painted fences bring Austin togetherArtists and citizens in North Austin collaborate to paint fences with the phrase2014-07-22 11:18 amdisabledVfgd70dk_wAtrue

Rigel Thurston says he lives by a simple motto: Beauty will save the world. The 33-year-old realtor is now painting that sentiment taken from Fyodor Dostoevskys novel The Idiot on fences along Lamar Boulevard in north Austin, Texas.

Thurstons goal is to build community and help transform a troubled neighborhood. To do so, hes enlisted the help of dozens of artists, residents, children and anyone passing by. To transform our neighborhood we have to get to know each other and community art is a great way to get to know one another.

Photo by KLRU

The neighborhood is also very international, with more than 30 different languages spoken. Thurston said he thought the fence project would be a great way for people to come together, even if they dont speak the same language. I do think that if we can learn to see the beauty in the people and places around us, we can make positive changes, he said.

To highlight the diversity of the neighborhoods residents, Thurston is painting the phrase in numerous languages. So far there are fences in English, Croatian, Spanish and Vietnamese, with plans for more in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and even Dzongkha the official language of Bhutan (to greet Bhutanese immigrants who live in an apartment across the street, Thurston said.)

Local Beat is a weekly series on Art Beat that features arts and culture stories from PBS member stations around the nation.

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Painted fences unite community in Austin neighborhood