In an Instagram video posted Monday, artist JD Moore announced that the city of Fort Worth was not going to let him finish a mural he had volunteered to paint on the Trinity River Pillars at 524 N. Henderson St. Moore said that he had spent between 150 and 200 hours painting the mural and that it was 80% complete but that the city had decided to find another artist.
Many local artists were outraged and vowed on social media to not accept the job.
Tuesday afternoon, however, Fort Worth Park and Recreation director Richard Zavala reversed the decision. He confirmed the change in an email to The Dallas Morning News.
The email explained that a March 25 deadline for the mural’s completion had been set in an oral agreement late last year. (Moore said he did not recall the conversation.) Zavala wrote that the project, which is part of the city’s Graffiti Abatement Program, had previously been granted an extension to April 9.
When the volunteer work was still not completed by April 19, Zavala wrote, his “staff and Mr. Moore discussed the project by phone and because the extended deadline had not been met, he was informed the city would take over completion of the project.” That’s when Moore took to social media.
“The city has reconsidered its decision,” Zavala explained in his email to The News, “and will offer Mr. Moore the opportunity to complete the project with a deadline of May 8.”
That second deadline extension was a surprise to Moore when The News reached him by phone Tuesday. (He later spoke with Fort Worth city staff members, who explained that they had had trouble reaching him to give him the news.)
“I had more support than I thought I did,” Moore said. “I was surprised by the number of artists who know this feeling of being mistreated. But the local work of artists of color resonates with other people.”
Dallas-area artist Jeremy Biggers, known for his Selena mural on South Bishop Avenue, weighed in on the incident on Wednesday. “You can’t give me a timeline if I’m volunteering,” he told The News, referring to Moore’s situation. “I’ve never seen someone removed from a project because it ‘took too long’ when they’re volunteering. That’s horrible. …They were going to bring in another person to finish it up and wipe his name from the project.”
“This is volunteer work, and I have to prioritize other things that I am also responsible for,” Moore added, about the new deadline. “Stuff I’m not doing for free.”
Based on the seasons and inspired by the work of artist Norman Rockwell, Moore’s mural will cover eight pillars and the bridge’s ceiling.
