The WNBA’s Indiana Fever on Thursday announced they’ve picked South Bend mural artist Alex Ann Allen to paint a mural on their new practice facility in downtown Indianapolis.
Actually, it was Allen’s fans who picked her. The team in June announced Allen was one of three finalists for the gig, and she collected the most votes in an online contest organized by the Indy Arts Council.
“People I haven’t talked to in years, they said they voted and that was just the sweetest thing," Allen says.
She’ll start painting on Sept. 28, with a tight 21-day timeline to finish. The $78 million training facility is still under construction and is set to open before next season.
The team also picked an apprentice muralist, Ana Escalante. Apprentice applicants were not allowed to have painted more than two murals in the past. Allen says she’s most excited about teaching her.
“Hopefully give her some more confidence to paint murals on her own and teach her my tips and tricks on techniques and my process that I’ve kind of developed over the years. And then the assistant gets paid too so that teaches them that their time is valuable. Many years ago I had someone kind of encourage me that you can make a living off of this and I think we just need to be reminded of that.”
