Lincoln residents won't be alone anymore as they cross the 12th Street skywalk downtown.
On June 5, a giant mural covering both sides of the skywalk was unveiled. The mural, titled "Larger Than Life," depicts the cultural diversity of Lincoln, which was exactly what the artist, Larry Roots, tried to portray.
"As I was trying to transform the bridge, I came across the reality that it is a bridge," Roots said. "People walk across it.
"(The mural) is almost like a sidewalk along the street where, on a given day, you would see diverse and unique people."
The Downtown Lincoln Association and the Lincoln Arts Council commissioned the project. The council started it by donating nearly $15,000 to the project. This money was taken from the Tour de Lincoln project where artistic bikes were placed around town and auctioned off.
Ken Hake, chairman of the 12th Street Art Zone, played a significant role in getting the project started. First, ads were placed nationwide in magazines and newspapers. Around 60 different artists responded with their ideas, but local artist Larry Roots was the favorite among the committee members.
"The project cost about $66,000. I actually did raise all of the money," Hake said. "I wanted this to be a unified project in Lincoln and wanted to get local business to help out.
"I'm interested in the arts and it's a very worthwhile project if you look at the mural and you recognize the diversity of Lincoln. It really appealed to me."
Lincoln Action Program was another one of the many organizations deeply involved in this project. The program is known for helping refugees when they first come to Lincoln from other countries. Roots came to Sue Hinrichs, the executive director of the Lincoln Action Program, for some help.
Although not an artist herself, Hinrichs said she provided Roots with exactly the kind of people he wanted to portray in
his mural.
"Larry came to me and asked me to help him find refugees from around the world who live in Lincoln," Hinrichs said.
Within two years' time, Larry found the people he wanted to use, had photographs taken of them and turned them into larger than life-size photos so he could do a very accurate recreation of them on the mural.
The mural captures the lives of 19 adults, three children and one dog.
Evin Salkanovic is one of these people and was helped by the Lincoln Action Program when he first came to the
United States.
"When I first came to Lincoln from Bosnia, the (Lincoln Action Program) helped me get a car," Salkanovic said. "I'm very pleased with how the
mural looks."
Many different people and organizations were involved with this project, and they all agree that had they not united, this project would have
been impossible.
"If I had to describe this project in one word, it would be collaboration," Roots said.
Deb Weber, executive director of the Lincoln Arts
Council agreed.
"Collaboration is the driving force behind beautifying the city," Weber said. "Larry far exceeded everyone's expectations and has even won a national award for this project."
An important element in helping Roots decide exactly what he wanted to depict was the book by local author Mary Pipher titled, "Middle of Everywhere."
The book describes the trials of being a refugee in Lincoln and also a critique of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Roots and Hinrichs are both fans of the book and encourage others to read it to have better understand the significance of the mural.
"[The mural] tells people that Lincoln is a beautiful city that promotes diversity," said Mayor Chris Beutler. "It's another giant step of building the diverse and beautiful downtown area."
The Lincoln Arts Council is open to ideas from the community, and if anyone has suggestions they should e-mail the council at info@downtown.org.
