As election season arises, so does the hope for Fort Worth's voter turnout.
Not only does Fort Worth have a low number of registered voters — the city struggles with getting those registered voters to polling sites for both local and national elections. According to the Tarrant County Election Administration website, in the 2014 Primary Election, Tarrant County had a total of 968,086 registered voters, and only 138,650 of those individuals participated in the election.
But two sets of citywide mural projects are looking to change that. One is Vote = Voice, a non-partisan group led by Delia deVer and Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby. The other is Voting is Voice, a Facebook initiative that chooses 10 cities across the U.S. with poor voter turnout. Both initiatives have the same mission — to utilize art and murals to engage civic activity.
Megan Henderson, director of events and communications for Near Southside Inc. and one of the many working behind Facebook's mural project, says putting up the art pieces looked a lot different than imagined. Instead of having individual artists come down and paint, artists sent giant, sticker-like prints that could be placed on the property; and each mural features QR codes that direct viewers to Instagram and the Facebook Voter Information Center.
Facebook, which specifically chooses artists of color and minority, selected Edie Fake, Jamilla Okubo, Ramsy Masri, Tiff Massey, and Troy Lamarr Chew for Fort Worth. Each designed and sketched a print that was then shipped to its corresponding location.
“We ended up choosing sites that were iconic and close enough that you would see them and recognize them," Henderson says.
Each mural can be found at the following locations:
- 701 S. Main St.
- 459 S. Jennings Ave.
- 200 E. Broadway Ave.
- 105 S. Main St.
- 1263 W. Magnolia Ave.
Delia deVer, one of the founding artists of Vote = Voice initiative, says her group had a different approach when deciding location, strategically placing each mural in places like Riverside and East Berry Street.
“Ideally, we wanted to have a mural in each of these highly marginalized communities to get those people educated on voting and using their voices for change they would want to see,” deVer says. “We want people to step outside of their neighborhood and go visit other parts of Fort Worth that they normally wouldn’t.”
Each mural encourages community members to engage with the piece by bringing a pen or marker to sign their name on the mural.
“It shows you are here to unify, and it shows that you’re an ally and supporter of stepping into other communities and getting out of your comfort zone,” deVer says.
A list of all Vote = Voice mural locations and their respective artists are available at voteequalsvoice.org.
