New Mural Shows Love to Denver's Sister City of Axum, Ethiopia

On a blistering June afternoon in north Denver, painter Jack Price II is putting the finishing touches on a vibrant new mural covering the basketball court in City of Axum Park, assisted by the project's organizer, Vincent Owens. But even with the sun beating down, the two men aren't missing the recent soggy season, as the rain really messed with their schedule.

"[The city] gave us the go-ahead sometime last year," says Owens, "but the weather! Snowing, snowing, raining...it kept us from coming out." But now they're almost done with the mural, which, like the park, nods to Denver's sister city of Axum, Ethiopia.

Owens is the CEO of the nonprofit Park Hill Financial District, which not only provides financial literacy services, but also works with local artists as part of its Let the Creators Create initiative. He's also an audio engineer and filmmaker, and he pilots a softly whirring drone over the court, gathering aerial footage. A man of many talents, he practices a brand of community outreach that's equal parts practical and creative. One of PHFD's signature programs is its Annual Back 2 School Backpack Giveaway, which distributes backpacks filled with school supplies and financial literacy info to students and parents in need.

The young entrepreneur has a keen interest in creating local art, as well. Last summer his organization was one of several partners that produced the Chauncey Billups mural in Skyland Park by artist Marly Boling. This time around, the project is even more personal for the Park Hill native, because Jack Price II happens to be his uncle. Price is well known in the neighborhood as an artist and a mentor to other aspiring creatives. His nephew's comparable passions prove the old saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
"We teach financial literacy to the youth and adults, but Let the Creators Create is our campaign that we do in the community," Owens explains. "I pick different artists with it, and I collaborate with them to use their creativity to get it out to the community. I'm from this neighborhood and I grew up in this neighborhood, and I just wanted to beautify it, give opportunities to artists...and let them create."

The City of Axum Park project qualified for funding through P.S. You Are Here, a Denver Arts and Venues grant program supporting neighborhood-based, community-led projects, specifically those at city-owned outdoor spaces. It's only the latest update for the Park Hill oasis, which has seen significant changes since it was established more than a century ago.

Originally called Clayton Park after Mile High businessman George Washington Clayton, the park was renamed in 1993 to commemorate Axum, Ethiopia, becoming Denver's ninth sister city. Historically, the city was the cultural center of the Axumite empire, which lasted roughly from 100 B.C. to 1000 A.D. The ancient kingdom left impressive traces in the form of massive obelisks, which mark the burial places of kings and other prominent citizens.

Today, Axum is in the regional Ethiopian state of Tigray, which has recently been devastated by civil war, COVID-19 and famine. Denver Sister Cities International, which manages the relationships of the current thirteen sister cities, has long supported the region with a goal of improving Axum's water and sanitation facilities. The nonprofit worked with the Park Hill Financial District on the current project and approved the mural design.
"I collaborate with the community organizations and the neighborhoods to see what can be something that would benefit everybody," Owens says. "I think collaboration is a key component of community, and with Denver Sister Cities...I kind of learned about them when I had the idea to do this park." He also brought his uncle into the mix, who provided a wealth of valuable expertise from over a half-century of industrial painting.

"I've been doing this since 1972, painting commercial buildings and houses and what have you," says Price, "but I've been an artist along with the paint business." He assisted with the Skyland Park mural and enjoys sharing knowledge with the younger generation.

"I had to show them how to put it on the concrete. I'm their painter: 'You been doing it for fifty years: show us, Pop! How you do it? How you paint concrete?' There's a bonding system you use to seal the concrete down so the paint will take. This is a special paint; it's not regular paint. This is concrete stain."

He builds up his colors with repeated layers to get them to look just right, typically with a base coat of bright white to help them pop. He laid down the mural mostly with a roller, using a grid for reference and a rubber water hose as a guide. And although he's well-versed in this type of painting, he works in a variety of mediums and modes, including portraiture, charcoal and pastels. He also came up with the concept for the mural, which pays homage to the history of Axum with a design that features Tigray flags flanking an abstract representation of a king.

"This so happens to be my jazz style," says the artist of the colorful piece. He came back from semi-retirement to serve as lead artist on the project at the urging of Owens, and he's also returning to the Colorado Black Arts Festival, which takes place Friday, July 7, through Sunday, July 9, on the west side of City Park.

His nephew is proud to have lured him back into action, and says putting artists together with resources is what it's all about.

"There's so many super-creative people, but they don't know how to live off their creativity," he says. "They've got to work a job, so it's keeping them away from the creativity. No, you can do what you love to make money. Creativity is the new currency."