End of the road for ‘The Traveler’

You can find them in just about every corner of the city, from Scott’s Addition to Shockoe Bottom and beyond. Many works were part of a collective effort known as the Richmond Mural Project, dating from 2012 to 2016. The project set out with a goal of adding 100 murals to the cityscape. The project’s website currently lists 87 murals. 

One of those murals, “The Traveler” by Ekundayo, has reached the end of its journey.

Traveling no more

Plastered on the side of a two-story home in the 300 block of South Laurel Street in Oregon Hill, the mural depicted a purple camel with a humanoid shack perched on top, reins in hand. The camel was surrounded by abstract trees, mushrooms and other homes. The camel also seemed to have a small person holding onto a stick on its head. The piece was installed in 2014. 

Now, 10 years later, the mural has been taken down. 

In a Reddit thread, one user commented: 

“Awwww that’s saddening I remember driving through the city one day … and being so bummed that so many murals I’d loved seeing, on walks and drives around my area, had been covered over.”

It is currently unclear why the mural was removed. Attempts to contact the homeowner were unsuccessful. 

George Arturo, who created the John Mitchell portrait on Broad Street in Jackson Ward, sees the taking down of “The Traveler” in a different context. 

“When we create it’s like giving birth,” Arturo said. “It’s like our kids.”

Arturo was in the Oregon Hill area one day when he noticed the first few pieces of the mural coming down. He says he was able to pick up a piece. He then reached a deal with one of the workers, where he would be notified every day of new pieces he could come collect.

“I just wanted a piece of it. It’s a part of history,” Arturo said. 

Arturo says that when he gathered the pieces, he immediately thought of self-titled “mural obsessed mural hunter” Jeannie Wermuth. He says he plans to give Wermuth her pick of the pieces. 

The Richmond Mural Project

The Richmond Mural Project was founded by Shane Pomajambo, a self-proclaimed avid art collector born and raised in Queens, New York, and director of the Maryland-based art gallery Art Whino. He says projects like this play an integral part in gaining momentum for the mural art world in America, once calling it a “vehicle for change.”

Ten artists from all over the world descended upon Richmond, treating the blank walls of the city as a canvas to draw the community together. Pomajambo said in 2014 that the goal of the project was to bring art-minded tourists to the city and potentially economic development as well. 

Ekundayo, of Hawaii, the artist who created “The Traveler,” was shocked upon learning that the piece was being taken down, but he was also surprised it stayed up this long. 

A painter, sketcher and muralist, Ekundayo said his artistic process begins with philosophy, and he passes on what he has learned from hardships. He said the destination is only the starting point for the next journey. 

A description of “The Traveler” on Ekundayo’s website says: “The traveler moves slowly, planting new seeds along the path towards creation.”