Mural livens up downtown Kinston

KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) - If you travel to downtown Kinston you’ll see the first of what will be several artistic additions.

There is now a mural painted on the side of J’s Place on Blount Street that will catch your eye.

It is part of the Kinston Mural Program, which the city received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts ‘Our Town’ program.

The city received $100,000 to have seven artists paint murals in Kinston.

The initial artist is Maxx Moses, who is from San Diego, California.

Moses has been an artist for 45-years and has painted murals for around 20-years.

He says each of his murals tells a story and he adds in local flair. The one in Kinston he added in local trees, the Neuse River, and a boy that he saw ride by one day on a hoverboard.

Moses says, “A kid comes flying around the corner on one of these things and I’m like yo, that’s awesome and I seen this kid for like a second. So I said I’m going to add him to the wall. And yesterday this pickup truck shows up and a woman said that is my son right there and I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

Moses tells us he has painted mural all around the world and he believes murals bring attraction to cities and also help struggling communities and make them tourist locations.

This is the first of seven murals that will be completed by the end of the year.

Copyright 2020 WITN. All rights reserved.