NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You may very well have seen the work of one local artist. His pieces command attention. There is reason for what he's creating and where you'll find it.
"In the process, I try to reflect on good thoughts," said artist Charles Key, speaking between spray painting a mural on the side of a building. "I give myself affirmation. I say, 'thank you Lord. I know this is not from me.' I know somebody else is guiding my hands."
Athletes, artists, faces that define a shift in culture — that's just part of what makes up the public art of Key.
"My first thought is the community," he said. "What can I give to that community? These kids live in gray houses. The bricks inside these projects are gray. I believe in color therapy. Colors help you."
Key can trace his mission back to one man.
"It was my father," he said. "He was real deep on education and history. I'm trying to do the same thing, educate."
One of his latest public murals is of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress. The Chisholm mural is on Lafayette St., the same stretch where you can also find Key's murals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Key wants neighbors to see inspirational figures.
"[I want them] to look at these faces and see something in them and to know they can do it too," Key said. "I want those people to be remembered. Sometimes we forget names, but it's hard to forget a face. This area was not known for art. You have to go to 12th Avenue South, the Wedgewood area. I just wanted to be that spark to say, 'hey, there is beauty even in the struggle.' I enjoy being here. I could be in the Gulch, but I think my art will be felt here."
Key also does tributes like a mural just completed on Jefferson St. of rapper Takeoff, shot and killed in Texas last week.
"We are losing our creators early," he said. "These are young men doing something, creating things that we are losing."
"This is coming from the heart," said neighbor Demetrius Harris, admiring the mural of Chisholm. "It gives us a split moment to think about these people who made an impact on life for us."
"We work with men and women recently released from incarceration," said Elizabeth Hayes of Project Return, looking over the mural art Key has done at their building. "The artwork on this building is inspired by participants who came from the program."
"I'm giving this to the community," said Key. "This is my way of giving back. I'd love to make certain sections of Nashville into art districts. If you believe, you can achieve."
