By Forde Womack
Taking a stroll through the Parkland neighborhood — particularly Parkland Plaza — some may notice a mural in the middle of the street that took Jaylin Monet Stewart 36 hours to paint.
Stewart, a Louisville native from the California/Parkland neighborhood, made her first impact in 2016 after losing her cousin to gun violence.
“His name was Demayres Ramsay. He was one of the first portraits I painted for a show I hosted at the California Community Center in November 2016,” Stewart said. She painted ten portraits of victims of gun violence for the show. “I kind of started my career with honoring individuals of the community and different things like that.”
Stewart’s work has since expanded to nearly 30 different murals and other art projects across the United States, from creating portraits meant to help heal to telling other stories. She is big on storytelling, and uses the murals to convey not just a message but a narrative that is told from Stewart’s artistic perspective.
“I use murals as a platform to tell stories, it’s a larger platform to tell stories – it’s more visible and accessible to people,” Stewart said. “It’s not just something that’s created and being put in a home or a studio. It’s a little bit everywhere”
Stewart’s methods to create these murals come from many outlets — some smaller than a piece of paper — though eventually it gets transferred digitally, projected and gridded.
“I probably use over 5 different gridding methods to upscale a small image to make it large enough for a building,” she said. “Once I do that I draw, label and we paint and get it done! I hand paint everything.”
The recent mural in Parkland Plaza was painted over a two-day period with a product specifically designed to go on roadways. The project was backed by the Arts + Creative Industries Grant Programs — a process in which local artists can go through to get grants to help kickstart and support artists, creative business, and cultural non-profits.
Stewart and Volunteer work together on the installation of the Asphalt Parkland Project Mural. Photo by Supply Lab Media.
Stewart’s impact can be felt throughout Louisville. In a recent clip posted on her instagram, one bystander said that it “brightens up the neighborhood,” and “adds to the beauty.”
“I think the impact my art has on the community is timeless,” Stewart said. “I feel like its something nobody can really put a price on… I think I provide a sense of inspiration that we’ve been deprived of for many many years, especially in the West End of Louisville. Especially for black people.”
Stewart strives to be an inspiration in the community, an example of what creativity can produce both in activism and community impact. Stewart founded a non-profit in 2017 called Adah School of Art, which provides a “nurturing and creative space for youth and young adults through various art forms.” Stewart also runs a program called “Monet Murals,” which specializes in painting murals in underserved neighborhoods.
“I use my work as a tool, to help bridge gaps, to help build up generations, so that’s why I say timeless,” she said.
While she has other projects in the works, this year has already been productive: a recent show at KMAC called “Wild in the Streets” and a design collaboration with Coach earlier this year.
Stewart said she finds respite and inspiration from a place of spirituality: “Of course I pull from other artists, I pull from other places but I’m in a space of reflection right now.”
Because Stewart has been telling stories for a long time now, the artist is considering her place in the community. “All of these stories I’m telling, I’m really trying to figure out where I – where Jaylin – lies in these spaces.”
Stewart’s constant reaching out to the community has left her wondering what else is out there in terms of career and life.
“I’ve been a full time artist since 2016, and doing public art since 2019-2020… being a young, emerging, traveling artist, I’ve had to navigate ways to find what I want in the world,” she said.
The artist has a busy project season coming up, including an upcoming showing at Blink Art Festival in Cincinnati on Oct. 17, followed by several art projects in Louisville and collaborations outside of art.
To keep up with her work, follow Stewart on her Instagram.
