ARTS & CULTURE

A SPace that’s welcoming to all…

Little Five Points is an arts retail district known for its alternative flavor and diversity since the 1970s. It has two public plazas - Findley and Davis - where performers gather regularly to create off-the-cuff performances. The Little 5 Points Business Association regularly schedules performances in the district with bands, puppet shows, and more.

More recently, the Alliance worked with well-known graffit artist Mr. Totem to create the new “Peace Wall Redux” at 422 Seminole Avenue. Read below to learn more about the process and the artist.

Peace Wall Redux

The original Peace Mural was painted on this wall by David Fichter in 1985 and told the story of nonviolent resistance to nuclear weapons. At the time, Little Five Points and surrounding neighborhoods included many community activists, and L5P was a safe space for political protest. The Peace Mural included images of nuclear weapon creation, efforts to prevent the weapons by people like Albert Einstein, and the 1950's peace movements that fought nuclear testing. Over time the mural was  painted over and tagged, the wall was damaged, and the Peace Mural became unrecognizable. 

In 2023, the L5P Alliance worked with property owner Tomas Valenti to commission a new mural in its place. Prior to painting the wall in preparation for a new mural, individuals working on the project recognized the signature of a well-known graffiti artist whose artwork had adorned the wall for years, relatively untouched by tags but worn by time and the elements. The signature was that of Mister Totem2. The L5P Alliance reached out to Mr. Totem both to ask permission to scrub his mural and to see if he would be interested in creating a new piece that would bring the history of the 1985 artwork and current street art culture together.

Artist Statement:

“I designed the mural as a pseudo collaboration with Mr. Fichter's artwork from the 80s to be a bit of a time portal to the current through the artistic medium he and I used bringing traditional brush artwork method to modern Graffiti Art interpretation. The subject matter is still based on Fichter’s work that is timeless about Motherhood, intellectual excellence, and social awareness through "peace, love, and unity.” 

These are original lyrics from James Brown but serve as a mantra from Hip-Hop Culture and Black Culture where Graffiti Art was born. My Graffiti letters are camouflaged in humanity in which I call "The only Hood I represent now is Fatherhood" as one of the biggest struggles in America is Absentee Fatherism and the allure of street life. My letters depict Fathers of different ethnic backgrounds being in their children’s lives and supporting, loving, and teaching their children. 

The colors chosen represent the vibrancy and diversity of L5P. Even though the colors range throughout the color spectrum, the Harmony achieved as they all come together in the mural is a metaphor of the life and people of L5P. I consider myself a Graffiti Artist raised in part in L5P, and I feel that the nature of the mural from the past Fichter version to the Graffiti Mr.Totem version is a sign of the time 

showcasing progression but not forgetting where we came from in spite of the world around us changing at a rapid pace.”