An Evangeline Parish native is using his skills to help Ville Platte rebound. He's bringing art to the city by painting murals and other designs on buildings throughout the area.
"Covering up the old and bringing in the new," artist Thaddaeus Arvie said.
Vibrant colors are now gracing the walls of the Martin Luther King Center in Ville Platte.
"I want to bring more life back to my hometown, and also give people a new sense of value for their community, " Arvie said.
It's a different look to a building that hasn't had a make-over in years. Arvie, who lives in Texas but is an Evangeline Parish native, makes the trip to bring his art to a place he calls home.
This project in Ville Platte is called it the Power-Forward Project where he's bringing colorful designs to some areas in the city. Arvie has sketches of what's to come.
He's working with the city to make improvements with his art, the cost is more than $8,000. All that money is coming from donations to his non-profit.
"Part of our park improvements and this is phase one, we're starting with the MLK Park and the other parts will also be done at a later time. Things will be done at the Northside Park and also Hope Park as well. So, there will be inspirational beautification messages all over town," Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said.
While the artwork is bringing new life to the area, the artists behind it is hoping that the younger generation sees this and gets inspired.
"We would Like to do career development classes, we would like to do summer art programs. So more than just beautifying the city," Arvie said.
There is also a message behind the project's name
"Power Forward is a position in basketball. It's like the number four, they call it. So, they're usually tall, very powerful, can shoot, can dribble and can play the post. So they are pretty much the ultimate team player on the court. So that playing with the words forward.... Martin Luther King one of his his quotes was keep moving forward," Arvie explained. "So, I want to just entail on that forwardness. Like we can have our traditions but we want to preserve them but also know that we can change and then we can move forward."
For more information about the project and Arvie's work click here . Arvie is also looking for volunteers to help him with the project on June 5th and 6th
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