The Delray Beach CRA has selected artist duo Sonata Kazimieraitienė and Symphonii Smith-Kennedy to lead a new exterior mural at 95 SW 5th Avenue, a CRA-owned building in The Set and Frog Alley neighborhood. The pair was chosen through a Call to Artists process and evaluated by a review committee. The CRA Board has an item on its August 27 agenda to consider approving the artists’ contract, a step that would formally move the project forward.
Grace Gdaniec, the CRA’s Program Director, said Kazimieraitienė and Smith-Kennedy’s proposal set itself apart through its choice of materials, moving beyond a typical painted mural. “As a duo artist team, they proposed an interesting use of materials beyond traditional painted murals. To me, the incorporation of mosaics and ceramic tiles felt unique and can lead to many design possibilities that would make this mural special. I thought that their experience individually with working with communities in developing murals and also creating them hands on was a plus, since this project will require a lot of interaction with the local community to develop the design. Both artists bring a lot of experience with public art so I was confident they will be able to succeed with the scope of work.”
Christine Tibbs, the CRA’s Assistant Director, pointed to the same distinction. “They were proposing a medium that most other Artists were not proposing,” she said. Tibbs also credited the strength of the application itself: “They submitted a very thorough and complete application and oral presentation that really took into account the need and desire for community outreach and participation in the mural design process.”
What the mural will actually look like is still an open question. The proposal specified only the materials, hand-painted and printed ceramic tile with mosaic relief, not a finished design. Gdaniec explained that filling in that design is the purpose of the outreach process ahead. “A major part of this call is that the final design of the wall mural will be completed through community outreach and research. Only the materials to be used was proposed. The artist team stated that part of their outreach and community involvement will be to offer sessions where community members can create the ceramic pieces/tiles that will be installed within the final mural design.”
That outreach will center on neighborhood where the building sits. “The mural will be rooted in the history of The Set and Frog Alley, as that is where the building is located,” Tibbs said. Community members will also be invited to help physically create pieces of the mural. “Sonata and Symphonii proposed a great community engagement/involvement component,” Tibbs said. “There will be opportunities for community members to come out and actually help make some of the mosaic tiles that will be installed on the building.”
Tibbs is encouraging residents to take part once outreach meetings are scheduled. “Stay tuned for the outreach meetings! Come out and share what The Set, Frog Alley means to you, your family,” she said.
Once outreach concludes and a final design is set, Gdaniec said the work shifts to production. “Once the outreach meetings and information is released and the final design is created, it’s a few months of fabricating the tiles and then installing them, which I believe will be done by a professional team of tile installers,” she said.
The mural at 95 SW 5th Avenue reflects the Delray Beach CRA’s broader work to preserve neighborhood history while investing in the built environment and public gathering spaces. By building the design process around resident input, the project aims to become a lasting tribute to The Set and Frog Alley, shaped by the people who know that history best.
