Mural project to focus on Winston-Salem's Liberty Street community

A nondescript municipal water tank in a historically Black Winston-Salem neighborhood is getting a makeover.

Right now the off-white structure by Liberty Street probably doesn’t attract much attention from drivers on U.S. 52. But that might change over the summer. 

Muralist Ernel Martinez has been gathering ideas and narratives from around the community that he plans to use to make the drab structure into an eye-catching work of art. 

Upon completion, Martinez says it will feature abstraction, realism and text designed to tell the story of the Liberty Street area and the city as a whole in a colorful way. 

"Right now, I’m in the design process and we’re going to select things to highlight," he says. "But there’s a lot of, lot of history here, and there’s a lot of pride here.”

The project is being paid for through American Rescue Plan Act funds administered by a local arts group. Martinez says the artwork is scheduled to be finished in late July.

The city has had some success when it comes to water-tank makeovers. A mural featuring a native river otter on Winston-Salem's southside won a national public works design contest in 2021.