Wonder Made has been a funky, eclectic shop since its inception. The “corner store for community and culture” has been a haven for local handmade arts, community creations adorning tables and racks. Well, you can add walls to that list. The store recently opened its blank, white walls up to local artists for a mural project. Now, the already vibrant shop is alive with color and creative energy. Wonder Made co-founder Laura Loci helped spark the initiative.
“We're just trying to connect people to the art that is out there,” Loci said. She turned to local artist and self-described “advocate painter” Nick Paradis to curate the space.
“There are no rules on the wall,” Loci said. “We let people have full control.”
Paradis painted the first mural, an mind-bending explosion of color, but it wasn't permanent – each month, he turns over the space to another artist, who paints over the previous work. The sense of community at Wonder Made, and indeed Concord itself, grows ever tighter with each artistic incarnation.
“There's an organic wholesomeness to it,” Paradis said. “I want to open this up to people who don't even know they're artists.”
Youdhi Maharjan was the first artist tapped to raze the mural and raise another of his own. He said he was motivated to contribute to the project because, for all the emphasis on art Concord is known for, there aren't many community-created projects in the public eye.
“What drives me is that I don't see anything like that here,” Maharjan said. “Manchester has murals, Portsmouth has murals, but I want to contribute to Concord. This is my community.”
That sentiment is one that Loci, Paradis and Maharjan all share.
“I definitely think Concord needs more of this,” Loci said. “We'll start with the inside of Wonder Made.”
That one wall may be where they start, but Maharjan and Paradis aren't planning on stopping there. They both spoke of a need for more public, hands-on art projects around Concord.
“When you go to a gallery, there are rules,” Maharjan said. “Everyone has to be quiet, you can't just go up and touch the art. With a mural, it's more personal – it's almost like a cave painting. You can have different artists talking to each other on the same canvas, and they might not even know each other.”
Of course, the most visible and obvious examples of this currently in Concord are also illegal – the walls of Storrs Street, for instance, are constantly being painted over, either by the city or by grafitti artists – but Paradis is searching for a more reputable outlet for Concord's creative muralists.
“We want to go about this the most respectful way towards the city,” Paradis said. He and Ryan Linehan of Kimball-Jenkins School of Art, where Paradis teaches, are working with the chamber of commerce on a proposal to paint the green utility boxes on Main Street with appealing designs. This sort of public art project has been embracing by other communities around the country; in fact, it's partially inspired by a similar project in Emeryville, Calif. Linehan is on board with the project for a number of reasons; not only would the visual aspect be appealing, but it would employ local artists.
“There's nothing that helps an artist more than a paying job,” Linehan said. He suggested that downtown businesses could each sponsor their own utility box.
“It would be a great way to show that Concord really supports their local artists.
Indeed, with the recent push to rebrand Concord as the “Creative Capital,” now seems like the perfect time to push for this kind of public, community art iniative. But regardless of serendipitous timing and public support, Paradis knows it won't be easy.
“I feel like it's positive,” Paradis said. “There's a lot of good energy surrounding it. It's going to be really tough, though – it's not going to happen overnight. It's the law of averages. We're going to keep going and going.
