The Daily Gamecock

Public Works of HeART mural to transform Cayce, SC water tower

	<p>A mural on the 20,000-square-foot Cayce Water Tank will feature the Carolina block “C” and a silhouetted golf scene.</p>
A mural on the 20,000-square-foot Cayce Water Tank will feature the Carolina block “C” and a silhouetted golf scene.

Crowdfunded project will donate up to $50,000 to charity

A new project that will bring some Gamecock color to the Cayce landscape will also help put food on the table for some hungry Midlands residents.

Public Works of HeART, a crowdfunding organization that partners with local nonprofits, is beginning its first project to beautify the community through public art while lending a hand to an organization that serves local people in need. Its campaign to fund a mural that will transform the Cayce Water Tank will also fund a donation of up to $50,000 to Harvest Hope Food Bank.

“It’s a simple idea to do good for the community and show some love for the Gamecocks,” said Will Bryan, founder of Public Works of HeART.

Through the website gamecockmural.com, people who wish to support the project can purchase a 2-square-foot section of the mural for $25. Ten thousand squares will make up the 20,000-square-foot mural covering the tower that overlooks the USC golf team’s practice facility.

The majority of the funds pledged — between $150,000 and $200,000 — will cover the costs of the mural, Bryan said. The remainder, up to $50,000, will be donated to Harvest Hope.

“(We thought) why not just add a couple dollars to each square, and that way we could just fund the whole mural and have money left over to donate to charity,” Bryan said.

Bryan, a graphic designer and former USC football player who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the university in 2002 and a master’s in 2004, designed the mural, which will be painted by muralist Eric Henn.

The design features the blackened silhouette of a golfer and a palmetto tree, with a crescent moon hung against a sunset. USC’s iconic block “C” logo will replace the first “C” in “Cayce” on the side of the tank. And on top, a golf ball emblazoned with the block “C” will greet planes flying into the nearby Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

“Everybody that flies into Columbia gets welcomed to Gamecock Country,” Bryan said.

Bryan studied art in college and used to spend about a month out of every year in college painting murals in Atlanta to earn money, he said.

“I’ve always loved it,” Bryan said. “I loved being able to transform something that’s a big white room into something amazing, to create something completely new out of it.”

If the project meets its funding goal by Nov. 1, the mural will be completed by Christmas, Bryan said — just in time to make a holiday donation to Harvest Hope.

He said he’s confident that supporters of USC and of public art will step up to the challenge to meet the close deadline.

“I believe so. We have 80,000 fans show up every Saturday at Williams-Brice and a huge alumni network,” Bryan said. “The only way this works is if the people that are passionate about making this project come to life … actually turn around and share the opportunity.”


Comments