Dave Loewenstein and the Mid-America Arts Alliance recently added the final layer of varnish to protect the images painted on the side of Dixie Printing Co. at the corner of 15th and Main streets in Joplin. 

This marks the final step in a three-month process of creative healing for residents of the Joplin area after a tornado demolished one-third of  the city earlier this year.  

Jo Muller, director of George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, has been involved with the planning of the wall for over a year, and believed the project was too important to be forgotten amidst the rubble. 

“The more we got into it, the more perfect the timing was, because so many people had so much to express,” Muller said in an interview for PBS NewsHour.

Josie Mai, associate professor of art at Southern, participated in writing the grant to have the mural designed. 

Students in her art theory class have created a blog on which they depict the physicality of the mural, as well as what this piece of art means to their community. 

The mural completely takes over the wall of Dixie Printing, covering it in giant designs that depicts daily life as a citizen of Joplin.  

The image of a butterfly is used to draw the viewers’ attention from one element to the other, as if to tell a story about the history of the town.

Mai explained that the creators didn’t want it to just be a “tornado wall,” so the task of completing the story was tough. Mai’s role in the project, aside from contributing to the grant, was to coordinate workshops with children to paint the wall.

Although Loewenstein is a well-renowned artist and his presence required collaboration by community members to form a grant for over $25,000, supplies were available to all residents. During the creative process, over 200 children, 100 adults, and 20 members of a design team all had an impact on the wall, which can now be seen by anyone driving by. 

“People have ideas about what art should be and what public means,” Mai said. “[The mural] is not a museum. It’s out there for everyone to see.”

Tom Jensen, owner of Dixie Printing Co., is responsible for donating the wall on which the mural was painted. 

“Seldom a day goes by where two or three people don’t come in and ask me about it,” he said.  

He recalled an older man sitting across the street and watching the mural being painted for over an hour. “Next thing you know, he’s painting on it. Everyone contributes.”

 Jensen was happy to house the mural after being contacted by Sharon Beshore, board member of the Missouri Arts Council. 

Mai also constructed an online survey, requesting viewers of the mural to express their feelings toward the project in its entirety. So far, over 200 citizens have completed the survey, leaving primarily positive responses. Mai maintains that these reviews will provide feedback and show positive outcome for investors as well as community members. 

Driving down 15th and Main streets this summer, many people were distracted by color and laughter and music as the community of Joplin came together to create a depiction of its family. 

Now, even as the scaffolds have been removed and the wall of Dixie Printing is lavishly covered in brilliant designs, passers-by can glance upon the mural on which the whole town worked to create.