By Richard Nickel
As one of the first three mural collaborations, “New Energy of Norfolk” was many visitors’ first glimpse of an emerging arts district.
The mural offered a warm welcome. My playful, smiling houses were illuminated by Clay McGlamory’s solar-powered light installations.
But in 2021, the mural was painted over during renovations to Pilot Place.
I had always wanted to be part of a grassroots movement, and the NEON District became exactly that for me. In 2015, along with Ƶ alumna Cheryl White and many other visual artists and writers, we gathered paint from the university and the wider community, then helped select artists for CANVAS, the first project to turn boarded-up buildings into art. Having painted murals since my early twenties, I was eager to contribute.
That experience led to the Better Block event, where community artists transformed vacant interiors into galleries, coffee shops, and boutiques. Parking spaces became playgrounds, climbing structures, and gathering spots for food trucks. The movement gathered momentum, and soon the Downtown Norfolk Council issued official mural calls. My “New Energy of Norfolk” design was accepted—with a few revisions—and I partnered with Clay McGlamory to add motion-sensor lights in the buildings’ eyes, a perfect finishing touch.
Painting began with Brendan Thompkins, whom I met through Norfolk State University art professor Chris Thompkins. Brendan arrived one evening with a gas generator, and after several tries the projector illuminated the wall. Seeing my one-inch drawing enlarged for the first time was exhilarating. We grabbed spray cans and ladders and began tracing the design, pausing only when a security guard stopped to ask what we were doing.
Over the following weeks, friends and family volunteered to help fill in the colors. With one last push — about eight of us working together — we finished the top section and lettering. A week later, Clay installed the motion-sensor lights, and “New Energy of Norfolk” came to life.
Over the years, the mural became a backdrop for public school field trips, community tours, protests, and even the occasional car sale. I was struck by how public art resonates differently from gallery work: it truly is art for and by the community. With each NEON Festival I tried to involve my students — offering Ƶ student pottery sales and exhibitions.
For this 10th anniversary, we’re returning once again with the Ƶ Clay Club to share student pottery with the community.
During COVID, the building changed from a newspaper office to residential space, and the mural was painted over. Rachel McCall, director of the Downtown Norfolk Council, often said she hoped to bring it back — and now she has.
She invited me to the NEON District to see a wall where the work would be recreated. I was thrilled. Over the summer, the Ƶ Ceramics Studio became my mural workspace. We used Polytab fabric, gridded the design into 5-foot squares, and painted each panel for installation.
One highlight was working with students from The Solstice School and Ƶ Art-education and 3D major alumna Sarah Harrington. The kids painted hearts with the names of loved ones, which were incorporated into the final piece.
Installation took several weeks using ladders, scaffolding, and an articulated lift. My family — Chris and our son Ollie — helped with touch-ups on the 20-by-40-foot mural. This project also marked a leadership change at the Downtown Norfolk Council: Rachel McCall moved on to the leadership in the Governor’s School for the Arts, and the new Public Realm Manager, Tyler Collins (she/her), helped bring the work to completion.
I’m proud to remain part of Norfolk’s growing art scene and to create opportunities for my students to share their work with the public. Celebrating the NEON District’s 10th anniversary makes this moment even more meaningful — the murals here are not only backdrops of wonder but also living markers of the city’s stories and memories.
Public art may weather with time, but the connections it creates endure, becoming part of the shared history of Norfolk and the people who call it home.
Richard Nickel is a professor in Ƶ’s Department of Art. The 10th annual takes place Oct. 16-17 in downtown Norfolk.