Like patches of a quilt, individual photos of Joplin’s residents are pieced together in this mural to create a cohesive work of art. Local photographer Kevin Deems took over 300 photos of local residents, then the Joplin-based company Images in Tile printed the photos on aluminum panels which were later assembled into a large canvas. The unifying words “I am Joplin” were painted on top in red to signify both the collective whole and the individual.
A project of Art Feeds, a local non-profit organization, this mural was made possible through a grant from the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri and from $3,000 raised through crowdfunding.