Gaston County Community Mural: ‘This is Gaston’

Gastonia, NC | Land of the Catawba + Sugaree

Painted + Designed by Bree Stallings | Curated by Motley Local

June 2020

128 W Main Ave. Gastonia, NC. 35’ x 10’ ft.

In the summer of 2020, Motley Local commissioned Charlotte-based artist + Gastonia native Bree Stallings (featured above, @breestallingsart on Instagram) to paint a mural informed by community input and historical symbols. The design incorporates a Catawba arrow head and feather (far right), as well as thread (far left) and soda bottles (right) to represent the county’s historic industries.

An interactive, community painting day was originally planned for Spring 2020, but the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and North Carolina’s stay-at-home order terminated that portion of the project.

This project was funded by Gaston Outside.

Photography by Jamie Lucido.