Winds of Change Mural at CIC Providence

93 feet. 46 hours. 27 community members. 7 days. Mural Week at CIC Providence was incredible! We transformed a long, sterile hallway into something inspirational. Get behind the scenes with the process of the new 93-foot mural located on the 4th floor of CIC Providence.

 

The mural on the 4th floor of CIC Providence is in a VERY narrow hallway! Hence it must be shown in sections rather than getting a single shot.

 
 

MURAL WEEK AT CIC PROVIDENCE

THE OPPORTUNITY

CIC Providence faced with a challenge of a series of empty office suites that sat unsold since the building’s opening in 2019. The offices are lovely and wrapped in glass, however, they faced a long, sterile white hallway that faced the building’s core rather than the window line. This lack of natural light and undesirable surrounding was believed to be the cause of the vacancy.


THE HYPOTHESIS

If CIC Providence added a mural to the 4th floor hallway and brought the CIC member community together to bring it to fruition, they should be able to sell the office suites while increasing the value and commitment to CIC within their members.

 

THE PROJECT + PROCESS

 
 
 

January, Week 3:
Working closely with the CIC staff, we chose quotes that spoke to innovation, change, and evolution and narrowed the dozen or so choices down to three.

February, Week 1:
I created sketches of these quotes and converted them into digital concepts that showed the mural as a stand alone piece as well as superimposed on photos of the hallway to show how the execution might look.

February, Week 3:
The team of 17 staff members then voted on their favorite concept, taking the vibrant client community, our state, and the structure of the floor into consideration. companies).

 

March, Week 1:
Once the final votes were in, it was time to map the concept to scale. This involved detailed measurements, rendering of obstacles like fire extinguishers and doors, and refining the concept to fit within the exact space. Using a detailed project timeline, I plotted out the calendar of events leading up to Mural Day on March 23rd:

  • Finalized supply list

  • Newsletter & spreadsheet asking clients to sign up for 1-hour blocks to paint

  • Planning & purchasing all materials

  • Mapping out the 7-day schedule of prepping the walls and floor, drawing all lines, blocking in all tinted primer, painting with the community, and refinements/finishing touches.

 

March, Week 2: Client newsletter went out along with the sign-up sheet for 1-hour blocks. All non-paint supplies like brushes, rollers, and drop cloths were purchased. A team member and I tested the utility of projecting the concept onto the very narrow hallway walls.

March, Week 3: Mural Week is alive with activity! Saturday & Sunday was for prepping & drawing lines. Wednesday was for blocking in all tinted primer. Thursday was Mural Day and went off without a hitch! We had 27 people come together from the client and staff community to paint together and bring the mural to life. Friday and Saturday was for refinement as well as adding finishing touches like the wind turbines (Fun fact: CIC PVD has the nation’s largest cluster of offshore wind companies).