110520_GYS

The walls speak: Spray painted on a wall somewhere is a quote about graffiti: Art in a frame is like an eagle in a birdcage. Since local youth were permitted to paint on a single back wall of a downtown business more than 30 years ago, Kieth’s Alley — which runs behind the Xenia Avenue business district — has become a constantly changing brick canvas for “out of the frame” free expression. Elaborate painted murals, inspirational quotes written in simple marker and occa - sional “tags” of graffiti artists decorate the walls, giving artists a space to share their work while creating a visible community aesthetic. In 2018, those art- ists, many of them largely unknown behind unsigned works, were honored with the Village Inspiration and Design Award, or VIDA. The award celebrated the creative contributions of a variety of artists at work on the walls for decades: Pierre Nagley, Travis Tarbox- Hotaling, Dylan Sage, Sarah Dickens, Tony Siemer and many more, plus those whose names have been lost to time. Although many alley artworks are commissions, there are several spaces in the village that are consid - ered “free walls” among the area muralists, and anyone can paint on them. The original free wall in Kieth’s Alley is the rear of a downtown building owned by Bruce and Carol Cornett that houses the stores Pangaea, Dark Star Books and Current Cuisine. In 1988, the Cornetts gave local youth permission to paint the wall and it has been an open space since. Bruce Cornett told the News a few years ago that 1 Dylan Sage, 2018, Emporium  2 Pierre Nagley, YS News (recently repainted)  3 Mandy Knaul, Pangaea/Dark Star/Current Cuisine  4 Pierre Nagley, Corner Cone  bk Sarah Dickens, Smoking Octopus  bl Kathy Wison, 2006, Urban Handmade. bm Pierre Nagley & assistants painting the Little Art Theatre marquee bn Pierre Nagley, Little Art Theatre, north side 1 2 3 bk bm bn bl